The Life and Career of Sir Henry M Stanley

Duqufsne llmuraitys

Gift of if. G. Megeath

THE LIFE AND CAREER OF

Sir Henry M. Stanley

G.C.B., D.C.L, LL.D., Etc.

THE AFRICAN EXPLORER

By Arthur Montefiore, F.R.G.S.

WITH SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS By HENRY KETCHAM

TO WHICH IS APPENDED A RESUME OF THE GREAT TRAVELLER'S LIFE WORK AND AN ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH (MAY IO, I904,) BY G. MERCER ADAM

A. L. BURT COMPANY, > j* j» > > j* j» PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK Copyright, 1902,

By E. A. BRAINERD. PREFACE.

"Strong in will, To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." Tennyson. " Ulysses. 19

Stanley's career is the history of the development of the Dark Continent. He has, indeed, been called the Columbus of Central Africa, but the title is inadequate. At the head of a long roll of honorable names, he has placed his own, —not by some mere chance of circumstance or fortuitous turn of fortune's wheel, but by dint of sheer determination " to seek, to find, and not to yield," by a rare courage, and a devotion to duty hardly short of heroism. He is more than a mere discoverer, for the scene of his many marvelous exploits has also been the center around which his highest hopes and deepest feelings have re- volved. For twenty years he has been an Afri- can traveler— for fifteen, an African enthusiast. But we must not suppose that Stanley was won over to the cause of the Dark Continent in a mo- v

WA R 1 4 196Q Vi PREFACE.

inent, that his well-known feeling on the subject arose, like some love, " at first sight." When searching for Livingstone he detested the country

and its climate, and despaired of the people.

Livingstone, who laid down his life for Africa and the African, would reason with him, hour after hour and day after day, but to little purpose

at the time. Stanley has told us himself that it was not until he penetrated Africa for the second time that he first awoke to the fact that large portions of the interior might repay an outlay of labor and money on the part of Europe. Then the bread which Livingstone had cast upon the waters was found indeed, for Stanley remembered the arguments of the Doctor, and a burning zeal

to be up and doing for Africa and its people be-

came the ruling passion of his life. It must not be supposed that even this minia-

ture portrait of Stanley's life is the unassisted work of the author. I have foreshortened the facts of many a bulky volume into that which now lies before the reader. The various letters and addresses of Stanley himself have been con- sulted, as well as his remarkable works, " How I found Livingstone," "Through the Dark Con-

tinent," and " The Congo, and Founding its Free State." To Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & PREFACE. yii

Co., the publishers, I tender my best thanks for their special permission to make extracts from these works. And, although the needs of the many have naturally been preferred to those of the scientific few, an effort has been made to place the reader abreast of that geographical development of Cen- tral Africa with which Stanley has had so much to do. In a word, this work is intended to put before the general public an authentic and graphic sketch of just those features connected with the life of the great African explorer which help to make the portrait at once characteristic and true. ARTHUR MONTEFIORE.

Bedford Park, W. Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/lifecareerofsirhOOarth ——

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. EARLY YEARS, 1840-1869. PAGE Denbigh, the birth-place of H. M. Stanley—His earliest year6—Education—Emigration to the United States Change of Name—A soldier with the Confederates- Taken prisoner—Return to England—Again in America —A Sailor with the Federals—Peace—To Europe and Asia—A Newspaper Correspondent—With the Abys- sinian Expedition—The War in Spain 1

CHAPTER n.

STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY, 1869.

Bennett's telegram—The Interview at Paris—Stanley's commission and his great opportunity—Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, and Persia—Voyage to Zanzibar —Zanzibar and its People—The New York Herald Expe- dition—The Work of previous Explorers and the possibilities before Stanley 14

CHAPTER HI.

THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE, 1870.

The Start from Bagamoyo—The Route—African Roads— Useguhha—Tidings of Livingstone—Stanley's first experience of Fever—The Makata Swamp—Farquhar's Illness and Death—Ugogo, the Land of Extortion Unyanyembe — Unyamwezi — Arab Traders — On the road to Ujiji—Shaw's Desertion and subsequent Death ix — —— x CONTENTS. PAGE —State Visit of the Sultan of Manyara—More tidings of Livingstone—"The Old Man at Ujiji "—Stanley's rush through the Jungle to the Tanganika. 31

CHAPTER IV.

success, 1871. * Entry into Ujiji—" Dr. Livingstone, I presume ? "—"Yes —The Doctor's Travels and Trials—Expedition to the Rusizi—Return to Ujiji—Final departure for Unyan- yembe—Livingstone and Stanley part En route for Zanzibar—Royal Geographical Society's Expedition Safe at Zanzibar, and successful 53

CHAPTER V.

coomassie, 1873-1874.

The British Expedition to Ashantee—Cape Coast Castle —The Gold Coast—Captain Glover's Force—Wolseley and his Staff—The British Army—Its Line of March- Battle of Amoaful—Dash upon Coomassie—The Capital of King Coffee Calcali—His Palace—Destruction of the City—Stanley versus Wolseley—The end of the Cam- paign

CHAPTER VI. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT, 1874-1877.

Death of Livingstone—The Daily Telegraph and New York Herald Expedition—Stanley's new Commission—The Completion of all former Discoveries—Arrival at Zan- zibar and departure for Interior—Striking a new Track —Death of Edward Pocock—Three days' fight in Ituru —Usukuma and Kagehyi—Victoria N'yanza and its Cir- cumnavigation—M'tesa, Kabaka (Emperor) of Uganda —Stanley's Conversion of M'tesa—His famous Letter* History of the Uganda Mission — —

CONTENTS. Xi

CHAPTER VII. across the dark continent, 1874-1877—Continued. PAGE Journey to Muta Nzige—Cowardice of Waganda—Retreat to Uganda—Stanley at Karagwe—Exploration of the Alexandra Nile—Arrival at Ujiji—Circumnavigation of Tanganika—The river Lukuga, an effluent En route to Lualaba—Tippu Tib—At Nyangwe—Cameron's far- thest—Terrible Prospects—Tippu Tib's Services—Diffi- culties and Dangers—Stanley Falls—Saidi's Rescue- Fight off the Aruwimi—Natives armed with guns- Stanley Pool—Livingstone Falls—Deaths of Kalulu and Frank Pocock—Starvation and Despair— Relief from Boma — The great Salt Sea—Round Africa — Home 105 Again !

CHAPTER VIII. STANLEY, A STATE BUILDER, 1878-1884.

Leopold II., King of the Belgians—An Interview—The International Association—Its aims on the Congo Stanley's new Commission—Organization of Expedition —Boma — Vivi — Road-making—Stanley Pool—Native Objections to Treaties—Leopoldville—" Blood Brother- hood "—Explorations—Illness—Return to Europe—Net Results—General Character of the Congo Country 132

CHAPTER IX. Stanley, A state builder, 1878-1884—Continued,

Return to Africa—"When the Cat's away "—The price of a Bullet—Leopoldville Retrogressive—Its Restoration —En route for Stanley Falls—The Upper Congo—Bolobo and Diplomacy—" The White Man's Medicine!" — Bolobo again—A Tropical Tempest—Stanley Falls—The plucky Scotsman—Down the Congo—Sir Francis de Winton—Stanley's return to Europe 153 ——

xii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X.

THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE, 1885. -Aoa The European Conference — A new State — Stanley's Treaties with the Chiefs—Objects of the Conference- Free Trade guaranteed—French Territory in West Africa—The International Association and Portugal

The Congo Free State—1,500,000 square miles ! —Stan- ley's Labors—King Leopold's Liberality—Administra- tion of the Free State 169

CHAPTER XI.

COMPARATIVE REST, 1886-1887.

A Lull — Stanley's Critics—His Justification — Living- stone's Trials—The Fall of Khartoum and the State of the Soudan—Emin Pasha—His able Administration The African Slave Trade and its Horrors—The Mahdi Revolt—Emin alone—His Rescue determined—The one Course, An Emin Relief Expedition—The one Man, Stanley 178

CHAPTER XII.

THE RELIEF OF EMIN, 1887-1888.

Organization of expedition—Tippu Tib—Ascent of the Congo—Yambuya—Off into the unknown—Silence and suspense—False tidings—Stanley's letters—Marching to Lake Albert—The eternal forest—Disease—Famine Fighting and heavy losses—Fruitful Ibwiri—Hostile Baregga—The N'yanza—Emin 194

CHAPTER XIII.

DARK DAYS, 1888-1889.

Emin's position—Stanley's return for the rear-guard—Its fate—Stanley again en route to the Lake— " Starvation Camp "—No news, bad news—A great rebellion—Emin and Jephson prisoners — Jephson's escape — Emin's arrival at Stanley's camp 215 ——

CONTENTS. xiii

CHAPTER XIV.

HOMEWARD WITH HONOR, 1889. PAGE Emin's doubts and decision—Surgeon Parke—The start for the coast—Stanley's illness—The Semliki Valley ,; " Ascent of Ruwenzori—The Albert Edward N'yanza —Another new discovery— Mr. Mackay—Mpwapwa Nearing the end—Entry into Bagamoyo—Emin's accident and recovery—A world-wide welcome 234

CHAPTER XV.

CROWNED WITH HONORS 256 CHAPTER XVI.

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 280

HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER I. EARLY YEARS.

In the northern division of the Principality of Wales there are many interesting and ancient towns, set in an environment of nature at once rugged and beautiful, which have played an important part in the history of the connection between the Teutonic and Keltic races. Yielding to none in point of historical interest or natural beauty, the town of Denbigh has added to its claims upon the respect of Britons, and, indeed, in this instance, of the whole world, by giving birth to the most intrepid and successful explorer of the age. On a sloping eminence in the valley of the Clwyd there stands the town and what remains of the castle of Denbigh. The fortress—naturally —crowns the hill, and in its immediate vicinity, —

2 HENRY M. STANLEY. and at one time under the protecting shadow of its walls, there nestles the older part of the town. As civilization advanced, and the arts of war were replaced hy those of peace, the growing community issued from its huddled home, and, "safe from war's alarms," raised the modern part of the town of Denbigh on the slopes of the hill and even in the valley itself. That valley forms a scene of uncommon beauty. On every side, save northward, the horizon is hacked into an infinity of form by the rugged peaks of the Cambrian range. In the distance, the summits of mountains rear their splintered crags above the rounded contours of the nearer hills. As the latter decline in height and become less imposing, they gain in richness and beauty, and the Clwyd finally runs through a gently sloping valley, enclosed by wooded hills. At no time during the present century has Denbigh risen above the position of an ordinary market-town, and its general character has in no way differed from the accepted type— "dull and drowsy " on every day in the week save one that of the market. The castle has long been in ruins, and within its ancient bounds, among the moss-grown piles of stone, there has arisen a group of cottages, inhabited by the poorer class. EARLY YEARS. 3

Here begins the main thoroughfare of Denbigh, cautiously winding its way down the slope of the hill, and straightening out as it reaches the modern town and the level of the river valley. Standing in the castle grounds, one's eye takes in the whole of the town, with a moment's glance, as it lies below, and then travels along the sylvan beauty of the vale of Clwyd—onward and upward until it is arrested by the peaks and passes of the distant range, by the glistening crown of Snowdon himself. In a glance the eye passes from art to nature, from the cultivated wealth of the plain to the desolation of the mountain-top.

There is an element of contrast in the scene, which is rare indeed in Britain.

Amid such surroundings Henry Stanley first drew breath, and spent his earliest years. But not as Henry Stanley. His patronymic was Eol- lant, afterwards anglicized into Eowlands, and his Christian name John. In after years, as we shall see, he saw fit to alter these names, and adopt the designation under which he has earned honor for both his native and adopted countries, and made his name " familiar in our mouths as household words." John Eollant—H. M. Stanley—was born in the year 1841, and, be it noted, amid humble sur- 4 HENRY M. STANLEY. roundings. His parents lived in the cottage of his maternal grandfather, whose name was Moses Parry, and who combined in his careful person the trades of butcher and grazier. A home had not been provided for them by the paternal grandfather, who was a fairly well-to-do farmer in the neighborhood, and enjoyed a considerable degree of local fame for his convivial propensities, and it is supposed that the old man, who was of an extremely careful if not parsimonious nature, disapproved of his son's marriage on the ground of improvidence. At any rate it is certain that the John Rollant, in whom we are interested, was born in Parry's cottage, and that his parents had taken up their quarters there from the first. This cottage was one of those to which reference has been made as standing within the ancient precincts of Denbigh Castle, and, in fact, the little quarter they formed was usually called "The Castle." About two years after the birth of the child the household was broken up by the hand of death. Moses Parry and John Rollant, senior, died with-

in a short time of each other ; the mother had to go out to service, and the child was looked after by a kindly neighbor who occupied another cottage in the Castle precincts. At the end of two EARLY YEARS. 5

more years the slender resources which paid for his support came to an end, and again a change had to be made. This time, however, the change was a radical one, for the child was sent to the Work- house School of St. Asaph, a few miles distant from his birthplace. This was his first journey in life.

The years between 1845 and 1856, JohnRollant, or Rowlands as he was now called, spent in the little world of School, and from what can be gathered of his character when there, he early gave evidence of such powers as belong to a born leader of men. To an intelligence which was remarkably keen, he added a determined will and high spirit. As he rose higher in the School he assumed a command over his fellows which made him a ringleader in many a boyish escapade ; but be it added, to his credit, he was valued for his general good influence by the master, one John Williams. It is noteworthy that, even in these early years, he showed a preference for the study of arithmetic and geography, and thus gave promise of the brilliant business habits and geographical instincts with which, in later years, the world has been made so familiar.

It is pretty certain that John Rowlands ran

away from school, though it is difficult to state 6 HENRY M. STANLEY. what led him to take such a step. This happened in May, 1856. For a short time longer he acted as pupil teacher in a national school, of which his cousin was master. At this period he is described as "a full-faced, stubborn, self-willed, round-headed, uncompromising, deep fellow. He was particularly strong in trunk, but not very smart or elegant about the legs, which were dis- proportionately short. His temperament was

unusually sensitive ; he could stand no chaff nor the least bit of humor." It is not surprising therefore that, after a short trial at teaching the " young idea," he threw up the task, and sought a more suitable outlet for his powers. He had eagerly read about foreign countries and the adventures of travelers, and it seems he early made up his mind to emulate their deeds. The first step had to be taken, and in his case this was an easy one. To tramp from Denbigh to Liverpool, even though he had but a few pence in his pockets, was a simple task for one of his determination and spirit. And so it came to pass that, at the age of sixteen years, John Eowlands found himself on board a sailing ship bound for New Or- leans, the most brilliant and tropical, though not the most attractive, city in the United States. EARLY YEARS. 7

On arriving at that city, the lad started on his search for work, and after a short time found it in the office of a merchant named Stanley. In his employer he found also a friend, and ultimately a father. For Mr. Stanley, who was child-

less, in course of time adopted him as his heir ; and it was in consequence of this that John Row- lands assumed the designation "by which he has ever since been known—that of Henry Morton Stanley. But, though his lines had fallen in pleasant places, the hopes of young Stanley were destined to be soon shattered. Mr. Stanley died suddenly

and intestate ; relatives claimed his property ; and once more had the adventurous youth to trust to his own ready-wit and strong right arm for the means of existence. And although for the next two years or so there is no record of his do-

ings, it goes without saying that, in the great Republic of the West, such as he would find no

difficulty in earning his daily bread. And it is quite possible that Stanley might have drifted into some narrow groove, and there remained for

the rest of his life, had not an event occurred

which shook the Republic to its foundation, held the civilized world spell-bound with horror, and developed his adventurous and danger-loving 8 HENRY M. STANLEY. nature to such an extent that Stanley has been a nomad and an adventurer ever since. This event was the breaking out of the Ameri- can Civil War. Stanley, as a Southerner by adoption, joined the Confederate Army, and under General John- stone fought in several battles, till, in that of Pittsburgh Landing, he was taken prisoner. With characteristic daring, however, he managed to escape—swimming across a river under a fusi- lade of bullets—and soon after returned to Eng- land and his Welsh home. He visited his mother and various friends, but, owing to his being in a destitute condition, did not meet with that reception which is the cus- tomary due of a returning warrior. Thence he proceeded to Liverpool, where for a while he was employed in a merchant's office. But his spirit had been stirred to its depths by the scenes he had witnessed when fighting with the Confederates, and, after a few months' experience of the counting-house, for the second time he worked his passage to the States. This time he landed at New York. Obviously found it was an awkward predicament in which he himself on landing—an ex-Confederate—in a Federal State. With that readiness of resource, EARLY YEARS. 9 however, which has characterized Mr. Stanley in all of his many undertakings, he at once cut the Gordian Knot and enlisted in the Federal Navy. This was in 1863. He joined the Flag-ship, the Ttconderoga, and after a few months became Secretary to the Admiral. While fulfilling the duties of this office, he distinguished himself by repeating, on behalf of the Federals, the daring deed he had previously performed on behalf of himself.

He swam a distance of 500 yards under fire, and fixed a line to a Confederate steamer, thus securing her as a prize. For this act of gallantry he was made an officer. He took part in many subsequent engagements, the last of which was the attack made on Fort Fisher, in January, 1865. At the conclusion of the war, the Ttconderoga set off on a cruise, and in 1866 was in the Medi- terranean. Stanley took advantage of being in Europe to revisit his home, and as his circumstances were in so favorable a condition, the welcome assumed a similar hue. In the same year also he made an attempt to do some exploring on his own account, by a trip through Asia- Minor. This excursion, which he undertook with two companions, ended in failure—due, be it noted, to 10 HENRY M. STANLEY.

the folly of one of his companions ; and in 1867 we find him again in the United States, acting as correspondent of the Neiv York Tribune and other papers, in a military expedition against the Indians of the Far West. It was on his return from this expedition that Stanley, with one companion, built a raft and floated it down the river Platte to its junction with the Missouri. This somewhat risky trip was but another step toward the inevitable end of all Stanley's various undertakings. He was slowly but surely, and perhaps uncon- sciously, converging to the point where he would take his leave of civilization, and make for himself fortune and fame in the undiscovered regions of savage countries. His first commission, which would bring him face to face with the inhabitants of the Dark Continent, was at hand, and, although his path was not to lie among the Arab-ridden heathen of Central Africa, it led him as it were to the threshold of the scene of his subsequent career. Now, also, was to begin the connection with that great American newspaper under whose auspices, and with whose unstinted aid, he was afterwards enabled to accomplish so much. On returning to New York from the expedition EARLY YEARS. 11

against the Cheyennes, he was appointed to the staff of the New York Herald, as traveling correspondent. He wished for nothing better. The work was congenial, the roving commission which he received fascinating to a degree, and the salary of £600 a year eminently satisfactory. In a very short time he had orders to proceed to Abyssinia, for the purpose of reporting the do- ings of the English Expedition which had been despatched to that country, under the command of Sir Eobert Napier, who was subsequently raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Napier of Magdala. Stanley found time upon his arrival in England en route to Abyssinia, to stay a few days in Lon- don, and see some of his Welsh relatives. It is remarkable that, in spite of his frequent renewals of the connection which bound him by the closest ties to "Wales, so many people should have been of the opinion that he was an American—not only bred but born in the United States. Even the New York Herald, upon more than one occasion,

denied his Welsh origin ; and in reply to a claim made on behalf of the Principality for the honor,

that journal stated : "Mr. Stanley is neither an Ap-Jones nor an Ap- Thomas. Missouri and not

Wales is his birthplace. " Other American papers 12 HENRY M. STANLEY.

followed suit, and the public generally were much mystified. But time, which reveals most things,

has long since made it clear that, although America was the land of his adoption, Wales was that of his birth. And in America the truth of this has been accepted and acknowledged, time and again, in the most unreserved manner.

Stanley's career in Abyssinia was, from first to last, an unqualified success. Not only did he dis- charge his duties as correspondent with marked ability, but upon several occasions he made himself of great use to the officers of the English staff. He distanced the English correspondents by his graphic reports and the rapidity with which he forwarded his despatches to the coast.

In fact, his account of the fall of Magdala was published in the New York Herald twenty-four hours before the intelligence reached London. In connection with this, however, and without in any way detracting from Stanley's personal ability, it must be remembered that he was being backed up by a millionaire, who spared no expense to obtain early news. The story of the Abyssinian

Expedition is told by Stanley with a vivacity and vigor which makes the work read like a romance in "Coomassie and Magdala," published in 1874, and incorporating his experiences in the Ashantee EARLY YEARS. 13

Expedition with those of the Abyssinian. So closed his first performance in Africa. No wonder is it that when, a year or so later, the opportunity arrived, Stanley was found, not only willing, but waiting, to renew his acquaintance with that continent of surprises. Eeturning from Abyssinia, he paid another visit to his family and friends in Wales, and then the war in Spain required his presence. All through the cruel scenes which characterized the great rebellion of 1869 Stanley was a passive spectator—a quiet man with an active eye. He was present at the battles, at the sieges, at the

wholesale slaughter ; for the second time did he see the ferocity with which an internecine war is waged, and the merciless spirit in which fellow- citizens and countrymen raise the cry of " No

1 quarter. ' How closely he studied the situation, and with what graphic power he described the result, the columns of the Neiv York Herald revealed to a delighted nation. How nobly its proprietor recognized Stanley's merits, and how soon he afforded him the opportunity of making an indelible mark upon an age already impresssd with countless acts of valor and virtue, it is now time to explain. 14 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER II.

STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY.

It was while resting at Madrid, after the fatigue of campaigning, that Stanley received the now historic telegram from James Gorden Ben- nett who was the son of the then proprietor of the New York Herald, and managed the paper for his father. On October 16th, 1869, he wired to Stanley in these words, " Come to Paris on important business," and on the same day Stanley left Madrid for Paris—and for the great opportunity of his life. How the two met, and what transpired between them is more than a twice- told tale, but its interest is such that the salient points of the interview cannot be omitted here. Stanley may well be allowed to tell his story in his own words, and in his own striking manner. On arriving at Paris in the dead of night "I went," he says, " straight to the Grand Hotel and knocked at the door of Mr. Bennett's room. "' ' — —

STANLEYS OPPORTUNITY. 15

" 'Come in,' I heard a voice say. Entering I found Mr. Bennett in bed.

" ' ? Who are you ' he asked.

" i My name is Stanley,' I answered.

" ' Ah, yes ! sit down ; I have important business in hand for you. Where do you think

Livingstone is ?

" 'I really do not know, sir.'

" ? ' Do you think he is alive " i He may be, and he may not be,' I answered.

" i Well, I think he is alive, and that he can be found, and I am going to send you to find him. Of course you will act according to your own plans, and do what you think best but find

' Livingstone ! On Stanley's referring to the great expense of the proposed expedition, Bennett replied, "Draw a thousand pounds now, and when you have gone through that, draw another thousand, and when that is spent draw another thousand, and when you have finished that draw another " thousand, and so on ; but find Livingstone ! With such a commission, and such an employer, it is no wonder that a man of Stanley's caliber should have grasped this great opportunity with a determination to turn it to the best possible account. This was the tide in his affairs which 16 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Stanley took at the flood, and so was led on to fortune. To hesitate was to be lost, to act promptly and with vigor was to succeed.

But it must not be supposed that this was the first time he had thought of Livingstone and his relief, or that Mr. Bennett had jumped to the conclusion in a moment that Stanley was the right man in the right place at the head of a Be- lief Expedition. There is no doubt that Stanley had for some time past been cogitating the matter in his mind, and had even approached the management of the New York Herald on the subject. Thus Bennett knew that Stanley was not only a tried traveler, and a man of great daring, but also that he was willing and anxious to take part in the relief of Livingstone. Details had been considered before, and at Paris the only question was that of the actual commission. The year 1869 was one of stirring interest in the geographical world. And not of that world alone, for the fame of Livingstone had for two decades gone out into all lands, and the whole of the civilized world was wondering whether the great traveler was really dead or not. An expedition had already sought for him in vain, and although, in the spring of 1869, some letters from him had reached Europe, they had been written STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 17 more than a year before. Autumn had arrived, and still there was silence, only broken now and again by uncertain rumors, which were worse than no news, for some said he was sick, some that he was dead—all agreed that, if he were alive, he must be in great poverty, and, there-

fore, unable to accomplish any exploring work. The Royal Geographical Society, ever to the fore in assisting exploration, and who had, so far back as 1855, awarded Livingstone the Patron's Gold Medal, were meditating his relief, and the Gov- ernment had made a grant towards the same purpose. But the honor was to fall to the enterprise of an American newspaper, whose expedition was supposed to be meandering through Eastern Africa with no definite aim, and whose leader was

merely that newspaper's correspondent ! sealed his com- For Stanley's orders were ; mission was to be kept a secret. However, before proceeding to Africa, he had to accomplish a great deal of preliminary travel in the interests of the Herald. He was present at the inaugura- " " Egypt thence tion of the Suez Canal, and did ; he went to Jerusalem, and looked up the inves- Fund tigations of the Palestine Exploration ; thence to Constantinople and the Crimea. Cross- ing the Black Sea and skirting along the north- 18 HENRY M. STANLEY. ern coast of Asia Minor, he arrived at Tiflis, and by way of Armenia reached Teheran. From there he visited Ispahan, Shiraz, and Persepolis, and at Bushire took ship for Bombay. The journey had been a dangerous one, and Stanley proved himself to be a good traveler by avoiding the many risks which, on every side, surrounded him. Similar expeditions had been attempted before, but most of them had failed, and in some in- stances, with complete disaster. Colonel Stothard and Captain Connelty had been murdered and Dr. Wolff, the father of Sir Henry Drummond

Wolff, just managed to escape with his life. As a triumph over difficulties, and a revelation of sealed lands, however, Stanley's journey is not to be compared to that of Mr. Edward Ledwich Mitford, who, in the " forties," rode through, not only Asia Minor and Persia, but proceeded, at the daily risk of his life, across the Iranian Plateau, crossed the rugged uplands of Afghan- istan, and on arriving in the Punjaub traversed the length and breadth of the Indian peninsula until he arrived at Madras. To have performed this journey with well equipped companions, and amid continual skirmishing, would have been a deed worthy of admiration, but as the performance of a single man who never met with mishap STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 19 nor dealt a blow in self-defense, it deserves the highest praise. From Bombay Stanley sailed to Mauritius, and on the voyage he enlisted the services of the first mate of the ship—the first white man to join his expedition. At Jerusalem he had already engaged an interpreter—an Arab boy who had been brought up in Bishop Gobat's Mission, and who ever after gave the greatest satisfaction to Stanley, and did credit to his Christian training. The mate's name was Farquhar, and that of the Arab boy, Selim. We shall hear of both again. From Mauritius Stanley could only get to Zan- zibar his — destination—by a circuitous route ; to the Seychelles—the islands which " Khartoum " Gordon believed to be the home of our primeval parents—he sailed in company with his recruits, and thence he departed for Zanzibar on board an American whaler. He arrived at Zanzibar on January 6th, 1871.

Zanzibar is the gateway of Eastern Africa. It is the capital of the island of the same name, as well as of the entire Sultanate, which till lately included that part of the coast of Africa which lies between 3° N. and 11° 30' S. The Sultan also exercised a more or less nominal protectorate over a large portion of the interior, between the coasts 20 HENRY M. STANLEY. and the great lakes. Situated on the western coast of the island, which is about 25 miles from the mainland, the town occupies an excellent position for commercial purposes. The island has an area of about 600 square miles, and sup- ports a population estimated at 200,000. Of this number about 80,000 live in the town of Zanzibar. As with all the Oriental emporia of trade, the pop- lation of Zanzibar is a highly mixed one. Alex- andria and Bombay, Colombo and Singapore cannot show a more heterogeneous assemblage of individuals. English and Americans, Germans and French, Portuguese and Italians, Arabs and Hindus, and a large variety of Africans—Somalis, Wanyamwezi, Waswahili, and a score and more of other tribes, freed men and slaves, are all to be found, in varying proportions, at Zanzibar. Europeans are comparatively few in number of course, and the most important of the Orientals are the Muscat Arabs, who are both landed pro-

prietors and traders ; the Banyans, who are traders par excellence ; and the Hindi, who rival the Banyans in their " unco grip " of this world's wealth, and their possession of the serpent's cunning. After these come a huge following of Arab-African half-castes, who pander to the higher classes while they terrorize the lower. Of —

STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 21 the lower classes, many of the freed men own their patches of garden, and dwell under the shadow of their particular fig-tree, while many work on the country estates of the Arabs or in the warehouses of the city. In the city, also, live large numbers of negro slaves, whose chief employ- ment is to transport goods from the warehouses to the wharves and from the wharves to the warehouses. As in other Eastern ports, all day long, " strings of these half-naked coolies" trot down the streets with bags and boxes on their heads, to the same unvarying tune that one hears in Calcutta and Bombay, Port Said and Suez, Madras and Colombo, Penang and Singapore wherever, in fact, there is any work to do, and coolies to do it. It is a song peculiar to the colored people all over the world—it is heard from the lips of Malays at Singapore, Bengali at Calcutta, and Madrassees on the Coromandel coast; from the colored " citizens" along the stony streets and wooden wharves of Charleston and the sandy avenues of Savannah ; and from the dusky " gemmen" of Jamaica and Trinidad. Just as even European sailors cannot pull on a rope without indulging in a " chanty," so all labor is carried on in the tropics to the monotonous singsong of the black or the brown son of the soil. —

22 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Zanzibar is an Arab city set in African scenery though neither the one nor the other is absolutely typical. Despite the impress which the conserva- tive Arab—who though he may change his sky never changes himself or his customs—has set upon the city, the influence of the native population is too great to be stamped out. Though the island lies near the coast of Africa, its insular character is sufficient to moderate the tropical exuberance of the mainland. The town itself is composed of glaring white houses, lofty, flat-

topped, and Arabesque ; narrow streets or alleys ; dark and deep recesses for shops—familiar enough to the traveler in Lower Egypt, Morocco, or

Algiers ; throngs of people, always noisy and busy, often dirty and offensive. In the better quarters and overlooking the bay are the dwellings of European merchants and consuls, of wealthy Arabs, of the Sultan himself. The national flags of mighty civilizations afloat above the dwellings of their representatives, and over all there gleams the crimson barmer of the Sultan. Moored to the quays, or at anchor in the roads, are the ships of the nations, the ironclads and iron-plated merchantmen of Europe, the swift and slender dhows of Cathay. Amid such surroundings Stanley began his STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 23 preparations for a march into the heart of Africa. He tells us how often he misled or delayed was ; how every mother's son of an Arab or Hindu

conspired with each other to defraud him ; how difficult it was to know how many pagazis (carriers) and soldiers he would need, how much money to take, and in what form and proportions —in short, he tells us of all the worry and work he had to undergo before he knew what to buy, and bought it. It will be sufficient in this book to give a simple list of his outfit and his followers, thereby showing more clearly than many words could convey, the exact nature and composition of the The New York Herald Expedition.

Members of Expedition. Henry M. Stanley, Commander. William L. Farquhar, a Scotchman, and late chief mate of the Polly, Second in command. John W. Shaw, a Londoner, late third mate of the Nevada, Third in command. Selim, the Arab boy, Interpreter. Bombay, one of Speke's " Faithfuls," Captain of the Soldiers. Uledi (Captain Grant's Valet,) Ulimengo.

Boruti. [ Soldiers. Ambari. r Speke's " Faithfuls.' "Bullheaded"Mabruki. (Captain Burton's Valet.) j ;

24 HENRY M. STANLEY.

And 18 negro free men. 8 Odd men (Cook, etc.) 153 Pagazis or Carriers.

Stores, etc.

About 40,000 yards (10,000 doti) of Cloth and Sheeting.

(Cloth is largely used for money in Africa. The better cloth is paid away as tribute to the chiefs through whose country an expedition passes. Some tribes prefer one quality,

some another ; and so with the color, etc.) 22 sacks of Beads. (Among the tribes of the Interior, beads are preferred to cloths. As with the latter,

so with beads ; some tribes preferring one color or quality to another. Eed beads, called sami-sami, are current in most dis-

tricts ; black or white in one or two ; brown, yellow, and green in many.) 350 lbs. of Brass Wire. (In the Interior, wire stands for gold, cloth for silver, and beads for copper.) 27 2 boats ; 1 cart ; 2 horses ; donkeys ; tents ; etc. medicine powder cooking utensils, ; ; and ammunition ; instruments ; provisions ; innumerable small articles ; 4 breech-loading guns ;

2 repeating rifles ; 1 elephant rifle ; 2 revolvers ,

24 muskets ; 5 pistols ; swords ; daggers ; spears

fi axes ; knives, etc. In all, about tons of material.

On the 5th of February, 1871, Stanley left the American Consulate—where he had been residing—and, together with the above formidable STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 25 category of men and material, set sail in four dhows for Bagamoyo, the nearest town on the mainland. The pagazis had to. be engaged at Bagamoyo, but otherwise the expedition was complete. Within twenty-eight days of arriving at Zanzibar, Stanley had finished the equipment of his force, and on the twenty-ninth made his first day's journey on his long march in search of Livingstone. At this point, and before closing this chapter, it will be desirable to give a brief resume of the work of previous explorers in Central and East- ern Africa, and of the possibilities which lay before Stanley as he drew near to the palm-fringed coast of the mainland. Westward of him lay a series of great opportunities, each of which he was destined to seize, in the order in which they arose, and utilize to his own honor and fame, and for the benefit of the world in general as well as of Africa in particular. In spite of the valuable discoveries of Burton, Speke, Grant, and Livingstone, there was much left for a future explorer to reveal. The chief geographical features of Central Africa—the great lakes—had been approached but not circumnavigated. It was a fact that Speke had discovered the White Kile flowing out of the north- 26 HENRY M. STANLEY. ern end of the Victoria N'yanza, but it was a question for the hottest discussion, in geographical circles, whether the Victoria N'yanza, in its turn, was not fed by the Tanganika. In 1856, the Eoyal Geographical Society published a map, sketched by a German missionary who, when at Mombasa, collected a store of information from Arab traders. The pith of their statements lay in the revelation that there was at least one vast lake, extending over twelve degrees of latitude, in Central Africa. This was soon to be disproved, for late in the same year, Burton and Speke's expedition landed at Zanzibar, and on the 13th of February, 1S58, discovered Lake Tanganika. The extreme north of the lake was not reached, and the whole of the southern half was left for future exploration. Nine years later, Dr. Living- stone arrived at the southwest corner of the lake, and traveled northward along the western shore, until he had traversed about two-thirds of the entire length of the lake, when he crossed over to the eastern shore, and continued his journey northward to Ujiji. Thus it will be observed that the whole of the eastern shore of the southern half, the extreme south and north, and much of the northwestern shore was, at the time of Stanley's setting out to find Livingstone, a terra STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 27 incognita. In the course of this book it will be seen how, step by step, these and other blanks on the map were filled. Lake Nyassa had been discovered in 1859 by

Livingstone, and the year before Speke first sighted the great lake which he named Victoria N'yanza. This took place while Burton was at Unyanyembe, collecting information from the Arabs. Convinced that this vast sheet of water gave birth to the Nile, and heedless of the opposition which Burton made to his supposition, Speke returned home, and was not long in getting the Geographical Society to send him out again in command of an expedition, whose object was to prove if the Victoria N'yanza were really the long-looked-for source of the Nile. On the 7th of July, 1862, Speke, with his companion Cap- tain Grant, reached the outlet by the lake and the effluence of the Nile. It was established, without doubt, that "Old Father Nile" issued from the bosom of the recently discovered lake, and Speke had earned the reward he had coveted so greatly. But much more remained to be done. Speke and Grant had solved the burning question of the hour, but added little to our knowledge of the coast line of the Victoria, or of the existence of the other lakes reported to lie west of the great 28 HENRY M. STANLEY. lake. The Muta N'zige, Albert N'yanza, and

Alexandra N'yanza were undiscovered, and it was still to be ascertained if the Kitangule or Alexandra Nile descended from the Tanganika to the Victoria. Nothing was known, moreover, of the huge extent of continent westward of the Tanganika, and no one knew that the large river which ran northward from Lake Bemba had any connection with that which, under the name of the Congo, emptied its waters into the Atlantic Ocean. In 1868 Livingstone had discovered that this great river, which was known as the Lualaba, flowed into the eastern extremity of Lake Bemba, or Bangweolo as the Chambesi, and out of it at the western extremity as the Luapula. The year before he found that this same river, flowing northward, entered Lake Moero, and made its exit at the northern extremity as the Lualaba.

Following the course of the river as it flowed ever northward, Livingstone's steps were arrested at Nyangwe, whence he crossed the country intervening between that place and the Tanganika, and returned to Ujiji. It was the dream of the great explorer's later years to work out the problem of the Lualaba, which he believed would prove to be the Nile, but he was destined to pro- STANLEY'S OPPORTUNITY. 29

ceed no further. A few years later, with somewhat better health and equipment, he returned to the southern shore of Lake Bemba, there to prosecute his search for the sources of the river which was for him the Nile. On the shores of that lake, early in May, 1873, the finger of death touched him, and his heroic soul journeyed to that undiscovered country whence no traveler returns. The great question remained unsolved. Did the Lualaba suddenly curve eastward and flow into the Victoria % Or could it be possible that it followed its course ever northward, until, turning sharply to the west, it dropped down a long slope of undiscovered country and emptied its waters into the Atlantic ? Livingstone had followed the course as far north as Nyangwe, which c is about 4° S. and 26 E., and it was from this point that any future traveler had to take up the thread. This traveler proved to be Henry M.

Stanley. In one expedition after another he followed on the tracks of Burton and Speke, Grant and Livingstone, and completed the discoveries they had made. He cleared up the mystery of the great lakes—he penetrated the heart of the continent, and revealed its most important fea- 30 HENRY M. STANLEY. tures, and he followed the wonderful Lualaba till he saw from its estuary the gleaming waters of the South Atlantic. But first in human interest, as well as chronological order, he found Living- stone. THE SEARCH FOE LIVINGSTONE. 3X

CHAPTER III.

THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE.

On arriving at Bagamoyo, Stanley's first act was to engage pagazis for carrying his stores as far as Unyanyembe, an important town on the direct route to the Tanganika, whither he was bound. Rumors had been heard from time to time of Livingstone being in the neighborhood of that lake, and, although Stanley kept his mission a close secret even at Zanzibar, he could not afford to march in another direction simply to add to the security of his secret. But engaging pagazis proved no easy task. It was full six weeks before all the men he required were engaged, and he was able to start for the interior. He divided his force, from motives of prudence, as the native chiefs are extremely avaricious, into five caravans, and sent each caravan forward at intervals of a few days. With the third caravan Farquhar went as commanding officer, with the last the man Shaw and Stanley himself. The total number of the expedition amounted to close on two hundred. 32 HENRY M. STANLEY.

The route lay through Ukwere,* Ukami, Use- guhha, Usagara, to Ugogo, at which country the second stage of the journey may be said to have begun. Thence to Unyanyembe would complete the stage. From Unyanyembe to Ujiji would be the third and last stage. Much of the road they were to follow would be trod for the first time by the white man's foot, for Stanley had chosen the shorter course—one which ran due west—while Speke and his associates in African travel had diverged to the south on their way to Unyanyembe. It must not be supposed, however, that it was a wild and tangled bush through which the way had literally to be cut. Nearly the whole of equatorial Africa is a network of footpaths, well denned by long usage. Every tribe is connected, every village is linked together by means of these paths. Professor Drummond, in his " Tropical Africa," has described them as being " never over a foot in breadth, beaten as hard as adamant, and rutted beneath the level of the forest bed by centuries of native traffic. . . . Like the roads of the old Eomans, they run

* The prefix U means country, Wa its people, M an individual inhabitant, and Ki their language. Thus the country near the sea-coast is Swahili, its inhabitants Waswahili, a single inhabitant, Mswahili, and the language spoken by them Kiswahili. THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 33

straight on through everything, ridge and mountain and valley, never shying at obstacles, nor anywhere turning aside to breathe." Day by day the caravans proceeded, marching a few hours at a time, and covering but a few miles in a day. Although the outbreak of the rainy season or Masika, as it is called, was expected, the weather continued fine. Through a rich and rolling country, extremely fertile, pro- ducing numberless varieties of grain and fruit ; across open plains and shallow valleys which were covered with an exuberant wilderness of growth, save in the cultivated neighborhood of villages ; through glades of mighty trees—the

ebony, the calabash, and the mango ; over seas of grasses of many kinds, and amid islands of tree- clumps or tangled thickets, Stanley's caravans proceeded on their course two or three days' march behind each other. All went well until they came in for the first taste of the Masika when encamped at Kingaru. The place itself was unhealthy, and when Stanley renewed his march, most of his men were enfeebled by ague, fever, or dysentery, and the two valuable horses he had were dead. On the 8th April, 1870, between Imbiki and Msuwa, the expedition had their first experience 3 —

34: HENRY M. STANLEY. of jungle. Added to the obstacles which " a wall of thorny plants and creepers " bristling on each side of a narrow path—but a foot in width across which projecting branches stretched with " knots of spiky twigs stiff as spike-nails, ready to catch and hold anything" would naturally present to a train of donkeys laden with large bales, there arose from the decayed vegetation around such a breath of miasma, mingled with the poisonous stench of the rank undergrowth, that Stanley momently expected to find himself and his men succumb to an attack of jungle fever. This jungle was happily soon left behind, and on the succeeding days the road proved excellent. They had now reached the limits of the country of Ukwere, and that of Ukami lay before them. Lofty mountains loomed in the distance, and the intervening ground was rich in varied landscape and cultivated fertility. They passed through " teeming fields of sugarcane and matama, In- dian corn, muhogo, and gardens of curry, egg, and cucumber plants. On the banks of the Un- gerengeri flourished the banana, and, overtop- ping it by TO ft. and more, shot up the stately Mparamusi, the rival in beauty of the Persian chenar and Abyssinian plane. . . . There were a score of varieties of the larger kind of trees, THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 35 whose far extending branches embraced across the narrow but swift river. The depressions of the valley and the immediate neighborhood of the river were choked with young forests of tiger grass and stiff reeds." The expedition reached the country of Useguhha on April 16th, and here they found themselves marching between the mountains of Uruguru on the south and those of Udoe and Useguhha on the north—a change indeed from the ever rolling plains of Ukwere and Ukami. At Muhalleh, the first settlement in Useguhha, Stanley met a huge Arab caravan on the downward journey to Baga- moyo, from Tanganika, and for the first time had tidings of Livingstone. The Arab Sheikh, Salim Bin Rashid, told him that he had actually lived for two weeks in a hut next to that in which

Livingstone dwelt at Ujiji ; that the great traveler looked aged and ill, and that his hair was nearly white. Such tidings as these were enough to induce Stanley to strain every nerve to hasten his steps, and we can readily believe how exasperating to a man of his personal vigor and promptitude were the many delays and obstacles he had to contend with between this point and his destination- On the following day he passed close by Simbanwenni, the capital of 36 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Useguhha, but refrained from camping in or outside the city, for fear of being hindered in his onward march. Simbanwenni, however, was a notable town for the interior of Africa. It was surrounded by a strong stone wall, built on the Persian model, with towers at the angles—the plan of the city, which occupied an area of about half a square mile, being quadrangular. The sovereign was a female and rejoiced in the title of Sultana of Simbanwenni, or the " Lion City." The caravans had been twenty-nine days on the march, and they had covered 119 miles since leaving Bagamoyo. When encamped a day's march from Simbanwenni, Stanley experienced his first attack of the mukunguru or fever of East Africa. As he was destined to have no less than twenty-three of such attacks before regain- ing the shores of the Indian Ocean, it will be of interest to let him describe his own sensations and the method by which he soothed them. " The premonitory symptoms were felt in my system at 10 a.m. First, general lassitude prevailed, with a disposition to drowsiness ; secondly, came the spinal ache which, commencing from the loins, ascended the vetebrae, and extended

around the ribs until it reached the shoulders,

where it settled into a weary pain ; thirdly, came THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 37 a chilliness over the whole body, which was quickly followed by a heavy head, swimming eyes, and throbbing temples, with vague vision which distorted and transformed all objects of sight. This lasted until 10 p.m., and the mukunguru left me much prostrated in strength. "The remedy, applied for three mornings in succession after the attack, was a quantum of 15 grains of quinine, taken in three doses of five grains each, every other hour from dawn to meridian. I may add that this treatment was perfectly successful in my case and in all others which occurred in my camp." Proceeding onwards and ever westward, the party arrived at the Makata valley, which the rainy season had converted into a perfect Sa- vannah of slush and mire, and through which the pagazis, as well as the beasts of burden, had the greatest difficulty in passing. Men fell out of the

ranks ; valuable bales of cloth, cases of powder, and provisions were again and again, through the carelessness or stupidity of the carriers, allowed to get wet—no slight disaster ; and what with the swollen streams and turgid pools, Stan- ley, who worked with almost superhuman energy, found the greatest difficulty in getting his caravan through at all. At the rate of less than a —

38 HENRY M. STANLEY. mile an hour, day after day, it dragged its slow- length along, and it was with feelings of unusual relief that Stanley, with his men suffering from dysentery and other ills contracted from the long march through forty miles of water, sometimes four feet in depth, arrived on the 4th of May at Eehenneko and encamped on the hilly slopes of the Usagara country. The change of scene and climate was naturally welcomed, but the beasts of burden found hill- climbing even more arduous than wading through swamp. At Kiora, a village in the valley of the Mukon- dokwa, Stanley came up with the third caravan which he had despatched from Bagamoyo nearly a month before he started himself. Through the illness of Farquhar, the white man in command, and from a variety of causes emanating from his incapacity, the caravan had been halted again and again, and its purchasing power doti* of cloth, and fundo of beads—recklessly expended. From this time forward the caravans marched together, and Farquhar, who continued to get worse as he advanced—a state of things Stanley attributed to his habits of debauchery—was finally

* A doti consists of four yards of cloth ; a fundo ten necklaces of beads. THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 39 left behind in one of the villages on the slopes of the Mpwapwa mountains. Though an attendant remained to care for him, he died within a few weeks of Stanley's departure. The Mpwapwa range—some 6000 feet in height— afforded great beauty of scenery, and many varied marches, but u the word upon every one's lips was Ugogo," and every effort was made to reach this reputed land of promise, where milk and honey over- flowed. On May 22d two Arabs traveling west joined their caravans to Stanley's, and, leaving the uplands behind, together they crossed the absolutely waterless and shadeless desert plain of Marenga Mkali. This wilderness passed, they found themselves in Ugogo, amid fields of matama and grain, and herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. Crowds of men, women, and children came together to see the Musungu (white men), who were subjected to the minutest examination, regardless of any personal feelings they may have had on the subject. But in face of the plentiful supplies which came pouring in, in exchange for doti of cloth and necklaces of beads, such excessive interest in their persons did not affect the Musungu. Indian corn, matama, honey, ghee (butter), beans, peanuts, water-melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers, 40 HENRY M. STANLEY. together with milk, were among the supplies

still which the country afforded ; and what was of greater satisfaction to the purchasers, the people themselves were easily satisfied as to the price.

Far different was it with the Wagogo chiefs. The extortionate demands of Shylock paled he- fore those which the chiefs of the many villages, through which the expedition passed, required Stanley to pay as tribute. Hours of wrangling, and all the arts of diplomacy of which the white men and the Arabs were possessed, were spent in trying to reduce the amount which the avaricious chiefs vowed would alone satisfy them, or make them allow so large a caravan to pass through their country. The chiefs, who called themselves sultans, were more or less always drunk, and it is but charitable to suppose that under those circumstances the dimensions of the caravans assumed incorrect proportions, and that the lust of greed and pride of power of the sultans were similarly increased. Delay after delay occurred, and progress proved slow. Chaf- fering and bargaining, remonstrating, and in- dignantly rejecting the offered terms, Stanley found life in Ugogo anything but what he had anticipated. The long-looked-for times of ease proved a delusion, and the fruit of an ill- founded —

THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE, 41 hope turned to ashes in the mouth. It was with genuine thankfulness, therefore, that, on the 7th of June, he led his caravan across the borders of

Nyanzi, and shook the dust of Ugogo off his feet. Worry and annoyance, even real danger, had

accompanied each step he took ; and although the land before him was but a wilderness compared to Ugogo, it was regarded by Stanley as a haven of rest. He was right ; an unpeopled desert is more friendly than a rich and hostile country. Avoiding Kiwyeh—whose sultan was reported to be even more exacting than those of Ugogo the route passed through Kiti, which lay to the northward, to Mgongo Tembo. In the days of Burton and Speke this was a prosperous town, situated in the midst of a cultivated country. But Stanley found here, as elsewhere, the trace of the Arab slave-trader, and the devastation which marks his progress through the unfortunate country that knows his presence. The houses were but blackened heaps, the fields, where once the cattle lowed and the grain ripened, were covered with the rank weed and tall grasses of a tropical jungle. Gone were the simple people,

gone the results of their industry ; there only remained the marks by which their former existence could be proved. 42 HENRY M. STANLEY.

The expedition was now marching in a northwesterly direction, right on Unyanyembe (or Tabora). Passing through Rubaga and Kigwa— like Mgongo Tembo, monuments to the iniquities of the slave-trade—and marching as rapidly as possible, by June 27th, Stanley sighted the suburbs of Unyanyembe, and with guns firing, flags flying, and the soldiers and pagazis dressed in their bravest loin-cloths, on the same day he made his entry into Unyanyembe, and the long march of the pagazis hired at Bagamoyo came to an end. Unyanyembe is the central district of the great country of Unyamwezi, the most important and fertile country in the whole of that part of Central and Eastern Africa. It is a vast table- land, sloping in gentle undulations towards Lake Tanganika, into which the country chiefly drains. The mountainous character of Usagara is wanting, as well as the fertile plains of Ugogo ; but in their place league upon league of purple forests roll away into the hazy distance, and wide stretches of pasture, on which ten thousand flocks are grazing, separate these forest belts. A dozen powerful states are contained within this region,

and the supremacy is continually passing from one state to another. The people of this great THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 43 country, the Wanyamwezi, carry off the palm among the people of Central Africa. They are well developed and intelligent, enterprising and industrious, perfect traders and travelers. They are the inter-tribal porters of the continent, the prop of the Arab caravans, the reliance of the white man. A Mnyamwezi thinks nothing of a journey to Zanzibar, and unless his people are on the warpath, is always ready to follow to what are to him the uttermost parts of the earth—provided, of course, that he can get well paid. He is equally at home on the shores of the Victoria N'yanza or Tanganika, on the banks of the Lualaba, or the Bufiji river. Easily influenced, they prove admirable followers, but when once roused, cowards though they may be, they show themselves to be unscrupulous and cruel. The caravan of the slaver has wrought havoc in their midst, and the rivalries which have given birth to internecine war have marred their unity as a nation. For all this they have held their own in their noble country, and earned the respect of those who have visited them on their own ground.

Little wonder is it that Stanley should have seen in this people a glorious field for the agencies of philanthropy and the humanizing influence of the Christian religion. 44 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Central Unyanyembe consisted of three settlements, Kwikuru in the southeast, the capital of Unyanyembe, in the middle of which stood the

Sultan's palace ; Kwihara in the south, where Stanley had his camp and comfortable tembe

(house) ; and Tabora, in the north, a large native settlement and the chief Arab city in Central

Africa. Tabora, which is situated in the midst of an extremely fertile plain, contains over a thousand tembes and huts, and boasts of a large population. It was here that Speke and Burton dwelt for months together, and afterwards both Speke and Grant. The luxuries of Arabia, Egypt and Zanzibar are to be found in the Arabs' tembes, which are large and handsome. These

Arabs, who are nearly all rich men, have imported everything they could need for an easy and luxurious life. Persian carpets, silver coffee services, wines and spices, and last, but not least, extensive harems. They own large flocks and herds, and numerous slaves, for household as well as trading purposes. In his intercourse with the Arabs, Stanley found the services of Selim, his interpreter, invaluable. It was when at Un- yanyembe that Stanley threw in his lot with the Arabs, and marched in their company against Mirambo, a troublesome neighbor. It was an THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 45 unfortunate proceeding, although undertaken on Stanley's part for what seemed to him excellent reasons ; but the expedition resulted in disaster, and Stanley, stricken with fever and deserted by the Arabs, escaped from the vengeful clutches of Mirambo by the merest chance in the world. The only result of this hostile movement was to effectually close the direct road to Ujiji, thereby compelling Stanley to proceed by a circuitous route, hardly less dangerous than the direct one through Mirambo's country. At Unyanyembe Stanley not only found his first, second, and fourth caravans, which he had despatched previously to his departure from

Bagamoyo, but also fell in with the caravan which Sir John Kirk, British Consul at Zanzibar, had sent off, many months before, to relieve Living- stone. When Stanley first landed at Bagamoyo, he had found this caravan idling there, having been a hundred days searching for the few pagazis required to carry the bales and goods destined for Livingstone. Since the middle of

May it had been ingloriously resting at Unyan- yembe. Stanley secured the letters for Living- stone, which the chief of the caravan had, and made it his business to look after the goods.

To this consideration on his part it is probably 46 HENRY M. STANLEY. owing that Livingstone ever received them at all. The 7th of September was a notable date for Stanley, for upon that day an Arab gave him the little slave-boy whom he named "Kalulu," who afterwards followed and attended on him with such great fidelity, and whom he has immor- talized in the book " My Kalulu." Kalulu in the Kiswahili tongue means " antelope," and the name was suggested by one of the native members of the expedition, as appropriate for a lad at once active and graceful. On the 20th of September the expedition set out, this time in much reduced numbers. For the road was eminently dangerous, and, Stanley was determined not to be saddled with inefficient followers, or a superfluity of baggage. The march to Ujiji was to be the work of a " flying column," the impedimenta or the useless were to

be left, in more or less clover, at Unyanyembe.

This was the program, though it was with a doubtful heart that Stanley—worn to a shadow almost by constantly recurring fevers—turned his steps towards the shores of the Tanga- nika. As soon as Unyanyembe was left behind, the white man Shaw gave in. This individual had THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 47 been the source of endless trouble to Stanley from the very first. He had been sullen and sulky, quarrelsome and overbearing, lazy and insubor- dinate. On one occasion, after a scene in which his baseness outvied his folly, he had deliberately shot at Stanley, who escaped by the merest chance. Now, however, weakened by fever and demoralized by debaucheries at Unyanyembe, Shaw had no stomach or stamina for facing the arduous task before him. And although Stanley urged him to pluck up spirit and " act the man," nothing would satisfy him but his return to the comparatively gay metropolis of Central Africa. As Stanley had warned him, he returned but to die. After an amicable evening 'they parted, Stanley to lead, unaided and alone, his blacks to Ujiji, and his wretched weak-kneed intemperate lieutenant to find an untimely grave in Un- yanyembe.

It does not lie within the scope of this work to

give all the details of the journey to Ujiji, but one striking incident—among many— occurred,

that for the light it throws upon the character of the petty Sultans Stanley had so frequently to fear, propitiate or avoid, may well be included even in this brief sketch. Mtemi, the Sultan of Manyara, had absolutely refused Stanley passage 48 HENRY M. STANLEY. through his territory, and forbidden his people to sell him any provisions. By liberal gifts, however, Stanley induced the Sultan to visit him at his camp, and the following ridiculous scene took place.

" The chief, a tall, robust man, and his chieftains were invited to seat themselves. They cast a look of such gratified surprise at myself, my face, my clothes, my guns, as it is almost impossible to describe. They looked at me intently for a few seconds, and then at each other, which ended in an uncontrollable burst of laughter, and repeated snappings of the fingers. They spoke the Kinyamwezi language, and my interpreter, Mayanga, was requested to inform the chief of the great delight I felt in seeing them. After a short period their chief desired me to show him

' my guns. The sixteen-shooter, ' the Winches- ter rifle, elicited a thousand flattering observa- tions from the excited man ; and the tiny, deadly revolver, whose beauty and workmanship they thought were superhuman, evoked such gratified eloquence that I was fain to try something else. The double-barreled guns, fired with heavy charges of powder, caused them to jump up in affected alarm, and then to subside to their seats convulsed with laughter. As the enthusiasm of ' '

THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 49 my guests increased, they seized each other's index fingers, screwed them and pulled at them until I feared they would end in their dislocation. After having explained to them the difference between white men and Arabs, I pulled out my medicine-chest, which evoked another burst of rapturous sighs at the cunning neatness of the array of vials. The chief asked me what they meant.

" 'Dowa,' I replied, ' medicine.

" ' ! Oh—h ! oh—h ' they murmured, admir- ingly.

" ' Here,' said I, uncorking a vial of medicinal brandy, ' is the Kisungu pombe (white man's

beer) ; take a spoonful and try it,' at the same time handing it.

" ' Hacht, hacht, oh, hacht ! what ! eh ! what strong beer the white men have ! Oh, how my throat burns !

" 'Ah, but it is good,' said I, ' a little of it

makes men feel strong and good ; but too much of it makes men bad and they die.'

" * Let me have some,' said one of the chiefs, 'and me,' 'and me,' 'and me,' as soon as each had tasted. "I next produced a bottle of concentrated am- monia, which, as I explained, was for snake- "

50 HENRY M. STANLEY. bites and headaches. The Sultan immediately complained he had a headache and must have a little. Telling him to close his eyes, I suddenly uncorked the bottle and presented it to His Maj- esty's nose. The effect was magical, for he fell back as if shot, and such contortions as his features underwent are indescribable. His chiefs roared with laughter, and clapped their hands, pinched each other, snapped their fingers, and committed many other ludicrous things. I verily believe that if such a scene was presented on any stage in the world the effect of it would be visible instantaneously on the audience—that had they seen it as I saw it, they would have laughed themselves to hysteria and madness. Finally the Sultan recovered himself, great tears rolling down his cheeks, and his features quivering with laugh-

i ter ; then he slowly uttered the word Kali/ hot, strong, quick, or ardent medicine. He required no more, but the other chiefs pushed forward to get one wee sniff, which they no sooner had than all went into paroxysms of uncontrollable laughter. The entire morning was passed in this State visit, to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned.

' Oh,' said the Sultan at parting, ' these white men know everything, the Arabs are dirt compared to them ! ' THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 51

On the 3d of November, while encamped on the banks of the Malagarazi, Stanley learnt from the leaders of a caravan that a white man, "old,

with white hair on his face, and ill," had recently arrived at Ujiji from Manyema, and that they had seen him as lately as eight days before. This could only be Livingstone, for Baker, the only other white man known to be in the interior, was comparatively young, and consequently would not be gray-haired. By dint of large bribes, Stanley aroused his men to something like excitement and energy, and pressing forward as speedily as possible, paying large tribute at every town, if only so as not to lose time, resisted continually by the savage chieftains of the country, crossing quagmires and streams, and, as the main track was infested by bands of warriors on the warpath, plunging into jungle depths and the wildest parts of a tropical wilderness, on Novem- ber 10th, the 236th day from Bagamoyo, at the head of his men, he surmounted a steep and lofty ridge, and beheld the Tanganika and Ujiji at his feet. His faithful Wangwana pressed forward and gave vent to their feelings in the most boisterous and characteristic fashion. There, in front of 52 HENRY M. STANLEY. them, lay the goal to which, through all their toil and privation, they had ever been pressing nearer. The days of trouble were over, the hour of triumph had arrived, SUCCESS. 53

CHAPTER IV.

SUCCESS.

All the dreary incidents, all the constantly recurring dangers of the long march from the In-

dian Ocean were in a moment forgotten ; Ujiji lay before them, and Livingstone was in Ujiji. With his heart beating high with excitement, Stanley marshaled his caravan in order, and then with horns blowing, guns firing, and flags flying, they descended the hill towards Ujiji. The people came out in crowds to meet them, and in the midst of the uproar, Stanley was accosted by Susi, the servant of Dr. Livingstone, who, in good English, told him that the Doctor was indeed alive, though poor in health. The news had quickly spread that a white man was coming, and all the chief Arabs had gathered in front of the Doctor's house, there to await the new arrival. For the rest—is it not a matter of history and engraved in the heart of thousands, to whom the story of the great traveler and mis- 54 HENRY M. STANLEY. sionary has been as an epic ? But let Stanley tell his own tale once more. " I pushed back the crowds, and passing from the rear, walked down a living avenue of people, until I came in front of the semi-circle of Arabs, in front of which stood the white man with the gray beard. As I advanced slowly towards him, I noticed he was pale, looked wearied, had a gray beard, wore a bluish cap, with a faded gold band round it, had on a red-sleeved waistcoat, and a

pair of gray tweed trousers ; I would have run to him, only I was a coward in the presence of such a mob—would have embraced him, only, he being an Englishman, I did not know how he

would receive me ; so I did what cowardice and false pride suggested was the best thing—walked deliberately to him, took off my hat, and said : 4 "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?' '"Yes,' said he, with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly. " I replace my hat on my head, and he puts on his cap, and we both grasp hands, and then I say aloud :

" ' I thank God, Doctor, I have been permitted to see you.'" The whole of the next few days was occupied by the white men in talking—sitting on the mud SUCCESS. 55

veranda of Livingstone's house, talking ; talking not only of what Stanley had experienced, and why he had come, and what the world thought about Livingstone, but also what the great traveler himself had done in the regions beyond the Tanganika, and how it was he returned to Ujiji, sick and helpless. Since leaving Zanzibar in 1866, Livingstone had traveled over thousands of miles of wild country, and met with enough misfortune to paralyze any ordinary man. He had gone up the Eovuma Eiver, skirted the shores of Lake Nyassa, and penetrated into the country of Lunda, whose king was the powerful Cazembe. On his way thither, most of his men had deserted, among them the scoundrel Musa, who had spread the report of Livingstone's death. During the next two years he was engaged in explorations in the basin of the Chambesi River, in the countries bordering on Lunda. He reached the southwestern point of Tanganika and discovered Lake Mcero. From the southern end of that lake he followed the course of the Luapula River till it issued from Lake Bangweolo. Proceeding along this lake, he found the last link in this chain of lake and river, and proved beyond doubt that the Chambesi, flowing into the eastern extremity of 56 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Bangweolo (or Bemba), was the beginning of the Luapula, and in no way connected with the Zam- bezi, a fact hitherto unascertained. Eeturning to Cazembe's capital, he had struck out for Ujiji, meeting with many accidents and losing all his followers by desertion—save two, Susi and Chumah. After a three months' stay at Ujiji he plunged once more into the undiscovered countries westward of the Tanganika, and though obliged to rest at Bambarre for six months, owing to the ulcerous condition of his feet, he managed to get over an enormous amount of ground. He discovered those large lakes, Kamolondo and Lincoln, and striking the course of the Lualaba, followed it through the former lake and south to Lake Mcero. Thus he had completed the chain of investigations needed to prove the Chambesi, the Luapula, and the Lualaba but one great river of lacustrine character. But he was not satisfied yet ; he had still to prove whether the Lualaba ran through some large lake farther north, of which the natives had told him, and so flowed into the Victoria N'yanza, to

it turned flow out again as the Nile ; or, whether sharply to the west and entered the Atlantic as the Congo. Livingstone leaned to the former theory, but he was not to be permitted to prove SUCCESS. 57 it wrong. On his return journey down the Lua- laba, he was unable to proceed further north than Nyangwe, whence he returned across the wild but attractive country of Manyema to Ujiji, a distance of 700 miles. Here it was, as we have seen, that Stanley found him, and in terrible plight. For the goods which had been awaiting his arrival at Ujiji, the bales of cloth and sacks of beads which would have enabled him to complete his investigations on the Lualaba, had been squandered by the rascals in charge of them—in riotous living. They had divined on the Koran and found, conveniently, that the Doctor was dead ! Livingstone was in despair, almost broken-hearted at this culminating misfortune, when Stanley appeared, just in the nick of time. The latter, therefore, not only found Livingstone, but, with the amount of stores he had left at Unyanyembe, and the unlimited credit he had at Zanzibar, was in a position to help him as well. The Doctor was both found and relieved. It was not long after Stanley's arrival at Ujiji that he proposed to Livingstone an expedition by water to the head of Lake Tanganika, in order to ascertain once for all if the Eusizi Eiver flowed into the lake or out of it. If it flowed out of it, in all probability it was that river which emptied 58 HENRY M. STANLEY. itself into the Victoria N'yanza and made its exit as the Nile. If, on the other hand, the Rusizi flowed into the Tanganika, all further controversy was useless. The Nile did not find its southernmost reservoir in the lake, and the geographers of the day were at fault. The expedition was soon arranged, and in about ten days they found themselves at Mugi- hewa, at the delta of the Rusizi. Thence they paddled to the mouth of the river, and with some difficulty ascended a short distance. The current was rapid and strong, flowing into the Tanganika at the rate of seven miles an hour—and the problem was solved for ever. The Rusizi was an influent of the lake, and not the Nile. With- out experiencing any privations or dangers beyond those which the ordinary course of travel in Africa engenders, the two travelers returned to Ujiji, arriving there after an absence of twenty- eight days. The route northward had been by the eastern shore, and on the return journey they had followed for about a third of the distance the western coast, and then crossed the lake to Mu- kungu. From there they went over their former course, reaching Ujiji on the 12th of December. It was now arranged that Livingstone should accompany Stanley back to Unyanyembe, and SUCCESS. 59 there receive not only his own stores but as much as he might require from those which Stanley had left behind. In the meanwhile he employed himself by copying out the rough field notes he had taken during his wanderings, and by writing letters to his relatives and friends. Stanley was busy at mapping out a new route to Unyanyembe. The one finally selected took them by water to Cape Tongwe, whence they could strike a " bee line" to Itaga, where they joined Stanley's old track. By this way they avoided the savage and tribute-clamoring chiefs of Uvinza and Uhha, and escaped the pressing but unwelcome attention of their people, the Wavinza and Wahha. Part of the caravan was to follow them along the coast, and the boats of the expedition would ferry them across such rivers and inlets as they met in the way. On the 27th December, Livingstone and Stanley finally bade farewell to Ujiji, and embarked on the Tanganika. A week later they landed at Urimba, and rapidly pushed their way across country to Itaga, and thence through Utakama to Unyanyembe, where they arrived on the 18th of February—the 53d day from Ujiji, and the 131st since Stanley had set out from Unyanyembe. Heavy rains had accompanied them most of the 60 HENRY M. STANLEY. way from Ujiji, and Stanley was repeatedly prostrated by his old enemy the fever. However, Unyanyembe meant rest, security, and plenty, and it was with no ordinary feeling of gratitude that the travelers entered the comfortable tembe at Kwihara, and found all things ready for their coming. Livingstone's goods had been much plundered, and there was much also that through carelessness had become useless. Stanley handed over to him no less than forty loads of all manner of cloths and beads, together with wire, rifles, guns, ammunition, and a host of the lesser, but still indispensable paraphernalia of a well -equipped expedition. With the remnant of his own goods at Unyanyembe, Livingstone had enough to keep himself and a force of about sixty men for a period of four years. The Doctor was much in- spirited by this sudden access to his broken fortunes, and became desirous of starting off on a renewed search for the sources of the Nile, with the least possible delay. As the Wanyamwezi were still at war against Mirambo, it was out of the question to think of employing them as carriers, and accordingly a considerable time had to elapse before the services of the next best men—freemen from Zanzibar—could be secured. — a

SUCCESS. 61

This was the mission that Livingstone gave to Stanley on his departure from Unyanyembe— mission it need not be added Stanley faithfully fulfilled. But it was not the only service that he had to perform, for he was the bearer of the precious Journal into which Livingstone had copied the notes of his journeys since 1866, and which revealed in detail the marvelous endur- ance as well as the discoveries of the great traveler. The parting of the two men was extremely affecting, and Stanley, who had conceived the very highest opinion of Dr. Livingstone during four months' intercourse, has given us a vivid description of it—only a portion of which we can quote

"We walked side by side ; the men lifted their voices in a song. I took long looks at Living- stone, to impress his features thoroughly on my memory.

" ' The thing is, Doctor, so far as I can understand, you do not intend to return home until you have satisfied yourself about the " Sources of the Nile." When you have satisfied yourself, you will come home and satisfy others. Is it not so?'

" < That is it, exactly.' '

62 HENRY M. STANLEY.

" ' Now, my dear Doctor, the best friends must part. You have come far enough ; let me beg of you to turn back."

' ' ' Well, I will say this to you : you have done what few men could do—far better than some great travelers I know. And I am grateful to you for what you have done for me. God guide you safe home and bless you, my friend.'

" ' And may God bring you safe back to us all, my dear friend. Farewell.' "* Farewell.' "We wrung each other's hands, and I had to before I unmanned myself tear myself away ; but Susi and Chumah and Hamoydah—the Doctor's faithful fellows—they must all shake and kiss my hands before I could quite turn away. I betrayed myself !

" ' Good-by, Doctor—dear friend ! "

him ; with his men wrought up to a state of 64: HENRY M. STANLEY. excitement hardly short of madness, discharging their guns and yelling like a company of fiends —with the marks upon every single individual of illness, famine, and toil—a sorry-looking crew —hut for all that with the eyes of an admiring world upon them. Men whom Stanley had known in Zanzibar failed to recognize him now —he was so aged and his hair had become so gray. None however withheld the hand of congratulation and applause which the reliever of Livingstone had so well earned. None thought of aught but to do honor to him to whom honor was most justly due. Livingstone was alive, and

able to go on with his great work ; his journals had been brought safely from out of the darkness of the continent, and the records of his labors

preserved ; the New York Herald Expedition

had fulfilled its purpose and more than justified

its existence—for Stanley had succeeded ! The expedition which the Eoyal Geographical Society were despatching from Zanzibar, under

the command first of Lieutenant Dawson, K. N., and afterwards of Lieutenant Henn, E. N., collapsed. Its raison d'etre no longer remained,

and it died a natural death. Stanley tried to induce Livingstone's second son, who was one of the members of the expedition, to go to his father SUCCESS. 65 with the men and additional stores he was about to despatch ; but as his health was indifferent, and the British Consul thought he would be hinder- ing rather than helping his father's plans, young Livingstone finally abandoned the idea. Stanley's last act was to despatch the promised caravan to Livingstone in command of a reliable man. This done, he wound up his own affairs, and on the 29th of May sailed from Zanzibar for Europe. 5 —

6Q HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER V.

COOMASSIE.

Before long Stanley was to return to Africa on another mission for the New York Herald. On this occasion his role was that of war correspondent—the duties of which post he had vigorously discharged some years before in the Abyssinian Expedition. Then his work lay in the extreme east of the great continent—in a country of lofty mountains and deep ravines, and almost unimpeachable climate. Now it brought him to the extreme west of the same continent to a land of swamp and jungle, forest and stream, which possessed one of the deadliest climates on the face of the earth. Upon both occasions he was attached to a British army, sent to avenge insult and injury inflicted by an ignorant and savage king. To put the matter in a nutshell, the expedition sent against the Ashantees was to punish the king for ignoring the rights of the British Pro- tectorate over the Gold Coast, and for retaining COOMASSIE. 67 in captivity certain prisoners who, if not English, were at least Europeans. The King of Ashantee —which is a country having an area equal to that of France, and occupying the alluvial, and consequently, in such latitudes, malarial plains between the Kong Mountains and the Gold Coast —may have had some cause for complaint in the earlier years of the British occupation of the coast. But there was nothing to warrant his raids upon the tribes of the Protectorate, his ob- stinate refusal to surrender the prisoners, nor his threatening attitude to the rapidly increasing trade of the Colony. To bring this variety of the " noble savage" species to reason was the aim of the British expedition entrusted to the command of General Sir Garnet Wolseley. In the autumn of 1873, Stanley sailed from Liverpool for the Gold Coast, where he arrived on the 24th of October. The port of debarkation, as well as the chief place of the Colony, is Cape Coast Castle, a typical West African Settlement, and egregiously unhealthy. Overlooking the golden sands, on which the rolling waves of the Atlantic forever thunder in a caldron of surf, are a few low hills, crowned with the fort, the Government houses, and the dwellings of the most prosperous merchants. These hills, rising 68 HENRY M. STANLEY. one behind the other, are separated by deep and

swampy valleys ; and in these valleys the native town is built. There is neither harbor nor wharf, and the ocean-going ships have to anchor in the roads, while their passengers and freight are landed in surf boats manned by the dexterous boatmen of the locality. All along this surf- rimmed coast nature has failed to provide a harbor, and such is the lassitude induced by the climate that no attempt has been made to sup- plant or even assist nature by art. For some twelve hundred miles the land is girdled by this raging, foaming wall. Stretching back from the shore to the furthest horizon lie plains of bush and jungle, narrow sluggish streams, and here and there a wide and alligator-haunted river.

The jungle is composed of innumerable varieties of bush, and shrub, and flower, growing in such profusion that the tendrils of one are tightly in- terlaced with the branches of another and form, some 15 or 20 feet above the moist and malarial soil, a dense, compact covering, through which the light of day can scarcely pass. Through such a jungle as this the British army had to cut its

way to Coomassie, the capital of Ashantee ; and amid such tangled vegetation the battle-fields of the campaign lay. COOMASSIE. 69

While awaiting the arrival of the English soldiers, Stanley set himself with his usual vigor to the study of the country and its geography. The proprietors of the New York Herald had provided him with a steam launch, and in this he started to navigate the Gold Coast, and collect those items of interest which the world calls "news." By closely following the coast-line, Stanley was enabled to obtain a very fair idea of the scenery of the Gold Coast. He saw—he tells us— " tiny nut-brown villages, modestly hiding under a depth of green plantain fronds, and stately silk cotton trees, which upheld their glorious crowns of vivid green foliage more than 50 feet above

the tallest palm tree ; depths of shrubbery where- in every plant struggled for life and breathing space with its neighbor, through which the eyes attempted to penetrate in vain beyond a few feet ; tracts of tall wavy grasses, tiger, spear, and cane, fit lurking-places for any wild beast of prey, varied by bosky dells, lengthy winding ravines literally choked with vegetation—and hills, on the slope of which perhaps rested a village of a timid, suspicious sub-tribe. The surf on the

African Coast is ever a wonder and a danger. Try along the whole of the Grain, Ivory, the 70 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Gold and Slave Coasts, and there is not one port. But, fortunately for ships trading to these places, there is seldom a hurricane or a gale blowing, so that they are able to anchor about a mile from shore. There is never any dead calm. The sea is ruffled in the morning by the breeze from night it is moved by the oceanward ; during the land-breeze, so that ships anchoring in the road- they steads are ever to be seen rolling uneasily ; are never at rest. Unceasingly the long line of waves is to be traced, rolling onwards toward the shore, gathering strength as they advance nearer, until, receiving the ebbing waters flowing from the beach from preceding seas, there is a simultaneous coiling and rolling, and at once the long line of water is precipitated with a furious roar on the land. Where the water meets a rock, a tall tower of spray and foam is suddenly reared, the wave line is broken, and is in mad confusion. Where the beach is smooth sand, you may trace a straight unbroken line of foam, nearly a mile long." Along such a shore, and within a gunshot of such a surf, Stanley proceeded in his little snort- ing launch to Accra, a distance of seventy miles. Here he found a very able officer in command, Captain (afterwards Sir John) Glover. By wise COOMASSIE. 71 administration he had endeared himself to the natives—the Yombas and Houssas—and they believed that of all white men the greatest was Governor " Golibar." At the time we are referring to, he had been entrusted with the task of driving back the Ashantees and their allies from the western basin of the river Volta, thus forming an extended right wing, as it were> to the main body under Wolseley. In a subsequent trip, which Stanley made from Cape Coast Castle in the Dauntless, he found Captain Glover, with a large native force, encamped on the banks of the Volta, near Addah. As a man of untiring energy and great strategic ability, Stanley formed the very highest opinion of him, and it would seem that England would never have known to what extent she had been indebted to this gallant

officer had it not been for the full and faithful despatches of the New York Herald's correspondent. During the man}' weeks which elapsed before the English soldiers arrived, Wolseley and his staff had been occupied in a complete reconnais- sance of the line of march. With a large force of natives the jungle had been pierced for many miles in a north and northwesterly direction, and at favorable spots camps had been prepared. 72 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Wolseley's policy was to reach Coomassie by rapid marches, take the city and reduce the king to reason, and then—the country being fairly paci-

fied and the route open—to return to the coast with even greater rapidity, just in the nick of time to avoid the rainy season, and the danger

and disease it would bring. Practically, this

was accomplished ; for, although certain minor portions of the policy were omitted in the great haste with which the General performed his task,

it is obvious that, had he delayed his departure from Coomassie in the interests of diplomacy, his army would probably have been decimated by the rigors of the rainy season. As a matter of fact, he accomplished all that was really necessary. To assist Sir Garnet Wolseley in his task, a brilliant staff of officers had been sent. The mere enumeration of their names—since become

so familiar—will prove this to the reader : —Sir Archibald Alison, Evelyn Wood, Baker Eussell, Brackenbury, Buller, Paul Methuen, Charles Warren, and many more. The late Admiral Sir William Hewett—then a captain—was in command of the Naval Brigade, which throughout this, as in other campaigns, performed excellent service. "Wolseley led an army of about 4,000 men through the 140 miles of jungle and swamp that COOMASSIE. 73

lay between the coast and Coomassie. The white

' " regiments comprised the famous ' Black Watch —the 42d Highlanders—the Koyal Welsh Fusi- liers, and the Eifle Brigade—all crack corps. In addition to these were the Naval Brigade, a corps of Royal Engineers, and a strong contingent of artillery, together with several bodies of native soldiers.

On January 6th, 1876, the advanced guard of the expedition left Cape Coast Castle, and by the end of the month the whole force had crossed the river Prah—about half-way to the capital. From this point they were in the midst of continual fighting until Coomassie was reached. The nature of the country, which now presented a dense wall of forest trees as well as the tangled undergrowth of bush to the advancing army, rendered fighting especially difficult. Ensconced in the bush and sheltered behind gigantic trees, the Ashantees lurked unseen, and from this point of vantage poured a fire which was not only murderous but rendered retaliation almost impossible. The advanced guard, and the scouts under the command of Lord Gifford, a young but exceptionally dashing officer, suffered heavy losses in driving back the natives and clearing the road for the main body. 74 HENRY M. STANLEY.

After two or three preliminary battles, the most important action of the campaign was fought before Amoaful—about twenty miles distant from Coomassie. Here the Ashantees were drawn up in great force, it being estimated that at least 12,000 men were engaged on their side. Wolseley entered into action, mounted on a Madeira cane chair, borne on the shoulders of four natives, "a conspicuous object for a lurking enemy in the bush." The total number of the British force present at this battle did not exceed

2,500, and their great success in completely rout- ing the enemy was owing to the excellent general- ship of Wolseley, the dashing behavior of the troops, and the superior character of their weapons and ammunition. The Ashantees, who charged their guns with slugs dropped on loosely rammed powder and fired wildly, lost what advantage they gained by their overwhelming numbers, and, despite their successive rushes down a much broken slope, were finally beaten back with immense slaughter. It was estimated that more than a thousand of these unfortunate people were killed on the field of battle. Stanley put the total down at a higher number, but explained in his despatches that the custom of the Ashantees in removing as many of the mortally wounded as COOMASSIE. 75 possible, for fear of their subsequent decapitation —the practise of the West African tribes in war —prevented the English from arriving at a correct calculation. Two more battles were shortly afterwards fought, and then the compact little army dashed upon Coomassie, which King Coffee had evacu- 4th the capital of the ated ; and on February the Ashantees was in the hands of the English Army. Sir Archibald Alison, in command of the van- guard, entered the city at nightfall, and a few hours later, Wolseley and his force bivouacked in the deserted houses and squares. Stanley has given us an excellent description of the appearance that Coomassie presented to account of the the victorious army ; and, as an capital of a great though savage people, it is well worth our quoting extracts from it. " In size, Coomassie came up to the standard I had formed of it. The streets were numerous, some half-a-dozen were broad and uniform. The main avenue, on which the troops had bivouacked during the night, was about seventy yards wide, and here and there along its length a great patri- archal tree spread wide its branches. "The houses in the principal streets were wattled structures, with alcoves and stuccoed 7G HENRY M. STANLEY. facades, embellished with mauresque patterns. Behind each of the pretentious buildings which fronted the streets were grouped the huts of the domestics, enclosing small courtyards. From one courtyard might be seen a small alley leading to another, where the storerooms were located. By the general order and neatness of the arrangements, I am compelled to say that, in their domestic life, they appear to me to be a very cleanly people.

" Coomassie is said to be over three and a half miles in circumference. It is such a city of magnificent distances that one could well believe it. It stands on a low rocky eminence, consisting of ironstone, the greatest breadth of which may be half-a-mile. The greatest length of the town may be about a mile and a half. " Each house fronting on the great streets had its lower part, as high as the floor of the elevated

alcoves, painted an ochrish-red ; the upper part was colored white. In the courts, also, the houses were decorated in the same manner. "Passing down the main street, which was littered with drums, large and small, from the great kinkassi which sounded the alarm of battle or the death-minute of a condemned person, to

the little drum, the plaything of children during COOMASSIE. Y7 the evening dance, we came to the grove whence the terrible effluvia issued which caused all men in Coomassie to describe the place as a vast char- nel house. It was almost impossible to stop longer than to take a general view of the great Golgotha. We saw some thirty or forty decapi- tated bodies in the last stage of corruption, and countless skulls, which lay piled in heaps and scattered over a wide extent. M. Bonat, a French trader and one of the released captives, says he has seen some two or three hundred slaves slain at one time. About a thousand slaves, offenders and rebels, are executed annually ! " From the Golgotha we proceeded to the king's palace. The first view of what was desig-

f nated as the palace ' was a number of houses with steep thatched roofs, clustered together, and fenced around with split bamboo stakes, occupying an area 400 or 500 feet square, at the corner of which rose a square two-storied stone building.

In the first court we entered, the lower part of the lofty walls of stucco was painted red, the upper part white. The designs, diamond-shaped, of the friezes and the scroll-work on the walls, done in alto-relievo, were bolder than anything of the kind yet seen. The columns were square, with simple pediments and capitals. The alcoves 78 HENRY M. STANLEY. were spacious. Other courts were after the same style as this.

" The alcoves were littered with various articles. One contained a large number of war-drums, stained with blood, and decorated with ghastly trophies of wars and triumphs, with human skulls. Another contained a number of cutlasses, rusty sabers without scabbards, accouterments plated with gold, old wornout guns with bands of silver and gold, horse tails and wisps of elephant tails, a great number of iron war-horns,

each with its human jaw-bone ; and in another we beheld any number of tall umbrellas—of silk, satin, velvet, crimson damask, and woolen cloth, bespangled with bits of gold and silver, or fringed with small gold, silver, and brass bells." On reaching the square stone building—the king's private apartments—Stanley saw, among hundreds of other articles, a breakfast and dinner service of solid silver, English cutlery, rugs and carpets of every description, all manner of swords and other weapons, including a sword given to the king by Queen Victoria, English engravings, enormous silken umbrellas, the regalia, consisting of crowns, staves, and stools of gold and silver, and copies of the Bristol Courier and The

Times ! In fact, it would seem that the King had COOMASSIE. 79 kept an old curiosity shop on rather a costly scale. " From the flat roof of the palace, which is surrounded by battlements, a very extensive view of the city and the surrounding forest and swamp was obtained." The king's palace exhausted, little remained to be seen by the enterprising correspondent of the Herald, and as the outbreak of heavy rains foretold the much dreaded wet season, Wolseley determined to evacuate the city at once. Before entering on this step, however, he endeavored to come to some agreement with King Coffee, who, while professing a great desire for peace and reconciliation, acted throughout with insincerity and treachery. Finding this peculiar monarch in no way amenable to the ordinary procedure on such occasions, the English General determined to leave his mark upon the place, and teach the savage mind, by means of an "object- lesson," the futility of opposing a great nation. He accordingly demolished the palace, and burnt the city to the ground. The center of the kingdom of Ashantee was uprooted, and Coomassie was no more. Writing later to the Secretary of State, Sir " Garnet said : From all that I can gather, I be- 80 HENRY M. STANLEY. lieve that the result will be such a diminution in the prestige and military power of the Ashan- tee monarch as may result in the break-up of the kingdom altogether. ... I certainly believe that your lordship may be well convinced that no more utterly atrocious government than that which has thus, perhaps, fallen, ever existed on the face of the earth. Their capital was a char-

nel-house ; their religion a combination of cruelty

and treachery ; their policy the natural outcome of their religion. I cannot think that, whatever may be the final fate of the people of this country, the absolute annihilation of such a rule, should it occur, would be a subject for unmixed regret. "In any case, my Lord, I believe the main object of my expedition has been perfectly secured. The territories of the Gold Coast will not again be troubled by the warlike ambition of this rest- less power. I may add that the flag of England, from this moment, will be received throughout Western Africa with respectful awe—a treatment which has been of late years by no means its invariable fate among the savage tribes of this region." Stanley strongly disagreed with Wolseley's policy at this juncture. He contended, and with some force and truth, that by a little more COOMASSIE. SI

patience and diplomacy, Wolseley might have achieved a greater success. By staying one day longer in the capital, the great Bantamah, or treasure house, a mile and a half from the capital, might have been emptied and afterwards destroyed. The king himself, by a little tact, might have been induced to come in person to headquarters, and make the treaty which was somewhat unsatisfactorily concluded with a

doubtful representative of the monarch ; and a large indemnity might have been wrung from his treasuries. Moreover, by an oversight, the English General allowed a large number of Ashantees to leave the city with arms, ammunition and treasure, when it was perfectly within his power to deprive them of everything. Thus a force of men and quantity of treasure which the king had regarded as lost to him, were b}r the lack of foresight preserved to him by his enemies ! "At the very moment," wrote Stan- ley in his despatches, " that Captain Glover, with a considerable force behind him, arrived near Coomassie, after an enormously difficult march right across the interior from Volta, and that the king by sending prayers for peace and a large quantity of gold dust .(the currency of all that part of Africa) intimated his collapse, the Eng- 6 82 HENRY M. STANLEY. lish Genera* was hurrying away from the city, and robbing himself of that larger measure of success which lay within his grasp. And moreover," added Stanley, "this rapid retreat was undertaken without the intelligence being con- veyed to Captain Glover, who, by acting according to instructions, had arrived close to Coo- massie, and was at once placed in a highly dangerous position by the sudden disappearance of the British Army." The very men whom Wolseley had allowed to leave Coomassie after his entry, with their arms and ammunition, might have roused the courage of the fugitive king, and helped him to fall on the unfortunate Glover and annihilate him. Luckily the king was too frightened to be so roused. However much reason there may have been in Stanley's remarks, the fact remains that Sir Gar- net Wolseley inflicted a salutary and lasting lesson on Coffee Calcali, King of Ashantee ; that he overcame the innumerable difficulties of the route with a consummate command of resource ; and that he led a force of Europeans through nearly 300 miles of a country, hostile in its people and deadly in its climate, with marvelously

slight loss of life. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. §3

CHAPTER VI.

ACROSS THE DARK GONTINENT.

The death of Livingstone, the faithfulness of

his African servants in carrying his mortal re-

mains across hundreds of miles of the savage interior to the sea-coast, and the subsequent solemn interment at Westminster Abbey, roused public interest in Africa and its still undiscovered regions to the pitch of fever heat. Never had such an outburst of missionary zeal been known, never did the cause of geographical exploration receive such an impetus. Small wonder was it that Stanley, who helped to carry the remains of David Livingstone to their last resting-place, registered a vow to unravel the mysteries of the Lualaba River, and clear up the doubts which existed as to the number, position, and extent of the great lakes ; small wonder was it that those who should bear the expense of an undertaking of such magnitude came forward without delay. As with the first, so with his second, expedition into Africa, newspaper enterprise and munificence S± HENRY M. STANLEY. supplied the " sinews of war," the indispensable financial support. At the invitation of the proprietors of the Daily Telegraph, Mr. Bennett, of the New York Herald, consented to share with the great English " Daily " the expenses of an expedition into Central Africa. Stanley was to be in command, and his commission was sufficiently ample for a man of even his caliber. He was to clear up all uncertainties about the Lake region, to follow the course of Livingstone's Lualaba wheresoever it might lead, and to investigate the slave trade, tracing its sphere and influence throughout Central Africa. He was moreover to represent the two great English-speaking nations in a befitting manner ; and no expense on the one hand, nor care on the other, was to be spared to make the expedition of lasting advantage to "science, humanity, and civilization." In a word, Stanley was to complete all that Burton, Speke, Grant, and Livingstone had begun, and reveal, in a philosophical as well as geographical spirit, the heart of the Dark Continent. Leaving England on August the 15th, 1874, with three companions and a huge outfit of neces- saries, together with a large boat which he had had made expressly for the navigation of the lakes and rivers, Stanley arrived at Zanzibar a ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 85 month later. Plunging immediately into the hard work of organizing his force, he found that there was no difficulty in getting plenty of volun- teers. His fame as the discoverer of Livingstone, and as a generous employer, brought many hundreds of the Wangwana—free negroes of Zanzi- bar—to his headquarters. Of these he selected the strongest and most reliable. All the best men of the former expedition were also engaged, among them being several of Speke's " Faith- fuls." The expedition started from Zanzibar on the

12th November, and on the 17th it left Bagamoyo for its long journey across Africa. Counting the wives of the few who were privileged to take them, the total number of souls was 356. The weight of the goods—cloth, wire, beads, ammunition and miscellaneous stores—exceeded eight tons. All this was carried in loads varying from 25 to 70 pounds on the heads of the pagazis. These carriers received, in addition to their food, wages at the rate of from eight shillings to two pounds a month, according to their capacity and character. The names of Stanley's white companions were Frank and Edward Pocock, and Frederick Bark- er. The two former were brothers, and the 86 HENRY M. STANLEY. sons of a fisherman well-known to Mr. Edwin Arnold, editor of the Daily Telegraph. They were fine young fellows and excellent boatmen. Barker had been a clerk at the Langham Hotel, but, owing to his earnest entreaties and some knowledge of him, Stanley had accepted his services. He proved very useful in many ways, and, in fact, the three young men were totally different from Shaw and Farquhar, Stanley's almost useless lieutenants in the former expedition. The route as far as Ugogo, though more northerly, led through the same countries, and amid similar scenery, as that which has been described in the search for Livingstone. After traversing the greater part of Ugogo, at Mwenna Stanley struck out northwards for the Victoria N'yanza, and left the beaten tracks along the high road to Unyanyembe behind. Here he began to experience the difficulty of passing through regions unopened even by Arab caravans. In- deed, all through Eastern Africa, the difference between the people who live on or near the caravan routes, and those who are remote from them is great. If the traveler wanders from the direct track, he very soon finds himself among timid and treacherous savages, who know nothing of Zanzibar or Unyanyembe, and who simply regard ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 87

the stranger as a foe. Kirangozi, or guides, are either not to be had, or, when procured, prove

untrustworthy ; and as the inhabitants of these undisturbed regions never travel, the information to be got of the countries lying on the line of one's march is of the most doubtful value. Soon after leaving Mwenna the expedition plunged into a trackless wild, the wilderness of Uveriveri—some 60 odd miles in breadth—and here it nearly collapsed from famine. Men deserted, others mutinied, and many succumbed to attacks of fever and dysentery. On arriving at Suna, matters mended as far as food was concerned, but the people proved hostile, and compelled the weakened and weary caravan to keep moving. The first great blow fell on the following day at Chiwyu—Edward Pocock, who had been ill for a few days, died. His loss was ir- reparable, and it was with saddened hearts that the travelers made the first white man's grave in Ituru. At Chiwyu the expedition had reached a great elevation, over 5,000 feet above the sea. The whole of Ituru is a plateau, traversed by steep ridges. Vegetation abounds, and the forest trees assume large proportions, while the undergrowth of grass and bush, though thick, enables fairly S g HENRY M. STANLEY. rapid journeys to be made. Food and water are found everywhere, and the former can be cheaply procured, the suspicious and unfriendly character of the natives alone preventing this country from being a favorable route for caravans. At Vin- yata, in Ituru, the expedition was assailed by thousands of savage Wanyaturu, who, for three days, maintained their attacks with the utmost determination. In one day alone Stanley lost over twenty men. The natives had killed and wounded several stragglers from the expedition, and, their appetite for bloodshed thus whetted, they surrounded the camp and attacked it in great force. With about thirty men on the sick

list, and nearly all suffering from the privations of the Uveriveri Desert, Stanley's force was much acting with both weakened ; but, in the end, by diplomacy and vigor, the attack was repulsed, and marching forward on their journey once more made possible. By February the country of Usukuma was reached, and here for a time their troubles came to an end. Crossing wide plains and a succession of low ridges, they arrived at an elevated plateau, whose rolling downs and open valleys were carpeted with the richest pasturage. Flocks and herds were found in enormous numbers, and prosperous villages frequently met with. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 39

The people proved friendly, and porters were hired without any difficulty. Usukuma proved

a land of plenty and peace ; their progress through it was barred by no hostility, and, since the climate was healthful, was delayed by no sickness. The plateau of Usukuma trends towards Lake

Victoria ; aod, traversing the thickly-peopled rolling plains which lie to the eastward, the river Shimeeyu, which may be called the headwaters of the Nile, flows into the great lake. Near its mouth is the town of Kagehyi, and here, on the 27th of February, Stanley arrived. In 103 days he had conducted his huge caravan over 720 miles of country—much of it excessively difficult —and nearly all of it hitherto unknown to the white man. At Kagehyi Stanley determined to leave Pocock and Barker in charge of his men, and to circumnavigate the Victoria himself in the boat he had brought from England. This boat, which was called the Lady Alice, had been divided into eight sections for porterage through the waste and jungle, and these were now fitted together. Nine days after arriving at Kagehyi, Stanley set sail in this boat, accompanied by ten oarsmen and a coxswain, for the great work of sailing entirely 90 HENRY M. STANLEY. round a vast inland sea, of which none knew the character or. the extent. Few travelers, with a large force at their back, have deliberately for- saken such protection and sallied out practically alone into the unknown and unfriendly regions round them. But Stanley, whose courage was dauntless, and to whom time was everything, knew that he could accomplish his self-allotted task in one quarter of the time that would be required by a large expedition. He was courting the gravest risk—but the Columbus of Central Africa has never been backward in facing danger, nor, indeed, particularly forward in avoiding it. Sailing eastwards along the southern shores of the Victoria, the Lady Alice crossed Speke Gulf, put in at the mouth of Shimeeyu Eiver—the " extreme southern reach " of the Nile—and then coasted round the island of Ukerewe, which is populous, richly cultivated, and about the size of the Isle of Wight. Sailing in a northeasterly course, and hugging the eastern coast, Stanle}r sighted islands and rivers in large numbers, but comparatively few villages. Lofty ranges succeeded to jungle-covered plains, and these in their turn again gave way to mountains. Heavy squalls and thunderstorms frequently compelled the voyagers to seek shelter in some creek or bay, —

ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 91

but otherwise all went well till off the coast of Usoga, a country lying along the northeastern shore of the lake. Here they found a savage people, whose only clothing consisted of a few banana leaves, and whose indulgence in pombe* rendered their naturally rude manners even more unpleasant. Over a hundred of the natives launched canoes and crowded round the Lady Alice, with menacing gestures and the most

fearful cries, until Stanley appeased them by pretending to go ashore with them. But, as

they fell back from the Lady Alice, he ran up his sail, and, there being a strong breeze, the canoes and their furious crews were soon left far astern. A day or two later he was less fortunate, and narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of the people of Uvuma—the Wavuma. As giving an insight into the character of many of the

tribes dwelling on the lake, it may be well to quote the great explorer's own account of this rencontre. "Frorn a small cove in the Uvuma shores, abreast of us, emerged quite a fleet of canoes thirteen in number. The Wavuma were permitted to range alongside, and we saw that they were fully armed with spear and shield. Em-

* A native fermented beer, made from grain. 92 HENRY M. STANLEY. boldened by their numbers they waxed noisy,

then insolent, and finally aggressive. . . . Be- coming assured by this time that the Wavuma had arrived in such numbers for the sole purpose of capturing what appeared to them an easy prey, I motioned them to depart with my hand, giving orders at the same time to the boat's crew to make ready their oars. This movement of necessity caused them to declare their purposes, and they manifested them by audaciously laying their hands on the oars and arresting the attempts of the boat's crew to row. I seized my gun and motioned them again to depart. With a loud, scornful cry they caught up their spears and shields and prepared to launch their weapons. To be saved we must act quickly, and I fired over

their heads ; and as they fell back from the boat I bade my men pull away. Forming a line on each side of us, about thirty yards off, they flung their spears, which the boat's crew avoided by dropping into the bottom of the boat. I seized my repeating rifle and fired in earnest to right and left. The big rifle, aimed at the water-line of two or three of the canoes, perforated them through and through, which compelled the crews to pay attention to their sinking crafts, and permitted us to continue our voyage." ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 93

On the following day these modern " Argo-

nauts" were off the coast of Uganda, and all trouble came to an end. Stanley's reception in Uganda was nothing short of a triumph, for Uganda was ruled by a great king, and he made his power as well as his personal wishes known throughout the whole of his country. Unstinted hospitality was offered them all along the coast, and on nearing Usavara Stanley was met by a small fleet of canoes, which the king, M'tesa, had sent as an escort.

Their reception at Usavara was indeed a re- freshing experience in the heart of Africa. Thou- sands of soldiers, uniformly clad in white, stood massed in solid line on each side of the landing- place. As the white man landed, a deafening roar of guns announced the fact to the surrounding country. Walking up the wide avenue between these saluting bodies, Stanley found himself confronted 'by the Katekiro, or Prime Min- ister, of the country, who with other high officials, had been commissioned by the king to receive the white man. After this reception, Stanley was shown to luxurious quarters, and then presents came pouring in from the king. *If it be remembered that Stanley's compagno7is de voyage were eleven in number, the following list of pro- —

94: HENRY M. STANLEY. visions will seem fairly ample : — 14 fat oxen, 16 ditto sheep and goats, 100 bunches of bananas, 36 fowls, 4 wooden jars of milk, 10 pots of maramba wine, and many other items on a similar scale. Stanley was clearly an honored guest. After giving the white man time to rest and to eat, M'tesa sent for him. Stanley tells us that from the first moment he was deeply impressed by the personality of the king, who at that time was the foremost man of Equatorial Africa. Having passed through several courts, Stanley entered the throne room. On either hand were long lines of chiefs, kneeling or seated, and at the end, on a wooden armchair, sat the great M'tesa, the Kabaka of Uganda. Tall, clean shaved, with lofty forehead and large speaking

eyes ; clad in a spotless white shirt, reaching nearly to his ankles, and belted with gold—over which an embroidered black robe fell loosely M'tesa presented a striking appearance. Shak- ing Stanley warmly by the hand, he invited him to be seated, and then ensued the inevitable palaver—the shauri of Eastern Africa. As the days rolled by, the mutual esteem which existed between M'tesa and Stanley deepened. The former found in Stanley a man far above ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 95

the average of the white man—bold in ideas, prompt in action, thoughtful in speech, affable in manner, dignified in demeanor. Stanley, who had completed a wide, rather than a thorough education in camps and caravans, who had had his character tried to its utmost on many an occasion, and had withstood the trial, who had read enormously, thought deeply, and yet was nothing if not a "man of affairs," was just the man in whom M'tesa would find the qualities he looked for in the European—a man to convince the African, by the force of his personality rather than by mere words, of his superiority. Stanley, on the other hand, saw in M'tesa a sovereign whose word reached to the uttermost ends of his great country. From the moment of his arrival in Uganda, he had heard of nothing but the Kabaka. Messengers had been sent at once to the Kabaka to announce his arrival ; feasts had

been made for the Kabaka's guest ; his host had told him they were the Kabaka's people—the Kabaka's Mkungu,* or the Kabaka's Mtongoleh.f Here, in the presence of the great Kabaka himself, Stanley found his conception of him confirmed. Wearing his power with an easy dignity, carrying on the work of government with informal dili-

* General. \ Colonel. 96 HENRY M. STANLEY. gence, M'tesa showed himself a potent influence for order and civilization. Insisting on cleanli- ness and strict discipline, M'tesa's court and camp were an example to the whole nation. Through- out his beautiful country, waving with undulat- ing landscapes of great fertility, and starred and girded here and there by isolated peaks and long- drawn ridges, M'tesa made his name honored as well as feared. He was a man who in some respects was marred by his native idiosyncrasies, but always, and to the end, an honest seeker after truth. Stanley accompanied M'tesa to Bubaga, his capital, and here met another white man—Col- onel Linant, a lieutenant of Gordon Pasha, and who was shortly after murdered in the Equa- torial Province. Here, also, Stanley began his famous attempt to convert M'tesa from the darkness of Mohammedanism to the light of Chris- tianity which, later on, he was to pursue with such success. After staying a few days at Eubaga, Stanley took leave of M'tesa, promising to return with his expedition, and re-embarked in the Lady Alice, en route for his camp at Kagehyi. At Bumbireh he and the boat's crew were nearly massacred. Their oars were stolen from them. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 97

and when they had managed by a stratagem to push the boat off from the shore and leap into it, they were obliged to break up the bottom boards and use them as paddles. To increase their danger, a heavy gale raged for two days, and they were compelled to relinquish paddling and drift hither and thither at the mercy of wind and wave. At last, on the 6th of May, after an absence of fifty-seven days, the Lady Alice arrived at Kagehyi, having circumnavigated the great lake, and sailed a distance of close on a thousand miles. Sad tidings were awaiting Stanley. Only twelve days before Frederick Barker had died, and the sole companion left to Stanley was Frank Pocock. The latter, who had been in charge of the camp, had behaved splendidly, and beyond some ordinary accidents of camp life, and of course the great loss which the death of Barker meant to the expedition, all had gone fairly well.

Stanley now devoted some time to rest, but his old enemy the fever found him out and reduced his strength to that of a child. Gradually, however, he grew better, and then began his preparations for transporting the entire expedition to Uganda. This great undertaking was success- 98 HENRY M. STANLEY. fully accomplished by August, and Stanley rejoined M'tesa to find him at war. In the intervals of peace he resumed the task of converting the king, and, with such success that at last M'tesa renounced Islam and embraced the faith of the Nazarene. It must ever be remembered to Stanley's exceeding credit that he not only used all the arts of oratory and argument to obtain this end, but also drew up an abstract of the Bible, together with a translation of the whole of St. Luke's Gospel in the Kiswahili tongue. M'tesa called a meeting of his great men and propounded to them the story of God's dealings with man as revealed in the Scriptures, concluding by asking them to choose between the Koran and " the white man's Book." With their decision, " we will take the white man's Book," the conversion of Uganda may be said to have begun.

The introduction of Christianity into this fine country is entirely due to Mr. Stanley's personal and direct efforts, and it would be well if some of the enthusiastic stay-at-home champions of the negro race grasped this fact more clearly. Many an unjust criticism has been passed upon the great explorer for his ready, if somewhat rough, treatment of savages who barred his prog- ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 99 ress or threatened his life. Here we see how

Stanley makes use of an opportunity if it arises, and no more worthy act is recorded of men who have been carefully prepared for evangelization in heathen countries, and specially sent out to preach the Gospel of love and truth. Conversion was not included in Stanley's commission, neither did his employers require him to add the zeal of a missionary to that of the explorer. All the more should he be honored for freely and spon- taneously exerting himself as he did for the extension of Christendom. A short account of the fortunes of the Uganda Mission cannot but be appropriate here. Its origin may be traced to the letter which Stanley indited, on his first visit to M'tesa, to the journals he represented. This letter appeared in the Daily Telegraph, on 15th November, 1875, and the following clauses are extracted from it. " I have, indeed, undermined Islamismso much here that M'tesa has determined henceforth, until he is better informed, to observe the Christian Sabbath as well as the Muslim Sabbath, and the great captains have unanimously consented to this. He has further caused the Ten Command- ments of Moses to be written on a board for his daily perusal—for M'tesa can read Arabic—as "

100 HENRY M. STANLEY. well as the Lord's Prayer and the golden com- mandment of our Saviour, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' " Oh, that some pious, practical missionary would come here !

" It is not the mere preacher, however, that is wanted here. ... It is the practical Christian tutor, who can teach people how to become Chris- tians, cure their diseases, construct dwellings, understand and exemplify agriculture, and turn his hand to anything, like a sailor—this is the man who is wanted. He must be tied to no church or sect, but profess God and His Son, and the moral law, and live a blameless Christian, inspired by liberal principles, charity to all men, and devout faith in heaven. He must belong to no nation in particular, but to the entire white race."

Such being the tenor of Stanley's letter, it is not surprising that wealthy Christians at home should have responded liberally. In a short time about £25,000 were contributed for the special purpose of the Uganda Mission. In June, 1876, a well-equipped party of eight arrived at Zan- zibar. Sickness and death brought down this

number to five, of whom one died on reaching the southern end of the lake. Here the com* —

ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 191

mander of the expedition, Lieutenant Shergold

Smith, K. 1ST., received a letter from M'tesa, written in English by a young African Christian whom Stanley had left with M'tesa. The letter ran: " My second letter. To My Dear Friend Wite men I send this my servant that you may come quickly and therefor I pray you come to me quickly and let not this my servant come without you and send my salaam to Lakonge King of Ukerewe and Kaduma Mwanangwa of Kageye and Songoro. This from me M'tesa King of Uganda."

In reply to this, Lieut. Smith and the Eev. C. T. Wilson sailed across the lake, and arrived at Rubaga on 30th June, 1877. They were warmly received by M'tesa, and at once set to work. Lieut. Smith, however, returned for one of the members left behind at Ukerewe, and soon after they were both killed in a fight arising out of a quarrel between the King of Ukerewe and an 102 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Arab. Mr. Wilson, who was thus left alone in Uganda, was subsequently joined by Mr. A. M. Mackay, who was destined to become the leading figure of the mission. More missionaries followed, but early in 18 79 difficulties arose from the hostility of the Arabs and the arrival of some French Roman Catholic priests. Ultimately, M'tesa, under the influence of a "sorceress," prohibited both Mohammedanism and Christianity. In 1880 matters looked very dark, but in the following year an improvement took place. M'tesa sent Envoys to the Queen, and the missionaries were allowed more freedom. Their work as builders, carpenters, smiths, farmers, and doc- tors, etc., began to influence the people, and found favor with the King. Toiling constantly in the garden of the Lord, they had begun to gather of the fruit of their labors, when M'tesa died—in 1881—and Mwanga, his son, was chosen in his stead. Unfortunately, Mwanga possessed only the vices of his father, and although the missionaries were for a while allowed to continue their work, he soon began to persecute the native Christians. About the same time came alarm- ing rumors of German annexation in Eastern

Africa ; and when, in 1885, Bishop Hannington ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 103 traveled through Usoga on his way to Uganda, by land instead of across the lake, Mwanga was both angry and afraid. Usoga on the east of Uganda was his vulnerable point, and from that quarter he expected the Germans ; so when he heard of a white man of distinction " entering his house by the back door," he sent orders for his execution. How Hannington died is now well known. Matters soon grew worse, and in 1886 the fires of persecution were lighted. By torture and hunger, fire and sword, the native Christians gained the martyr's crown. At the end of 1886 the missionaries had all been sent away, except- ing Mr. Mackay. For the next eleven months he was alone. In 1887 he too was driven away, but Mwanga asked for Mr. Gordon, the identity of whose name with that of Gordon Pasha pleased him, to be sent in his place. Gordon was 'soon joined by Mr. Walker, whom Mwanga received with honor. All went well for a time, but on January 11th, 1889, a telegram arrived in England with the news that the missionaries had been plundered and and expelled ; that Mwanga was deposed were made a prisoner ; and that the Arabs triumphant and boasting of the victory of Islam. 104 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Thus for the present the mission is at a stand- still. The Arabs are foreigners and not natives of Uganda, and hate the English for their determined opposition to that dreadful traffic in slaves

which makes them rich ; and it is therefore to these Arab slave-traders, and not to the king or people of Uganda, that we must look for the cause of this sudden collapse. While awaiting the course of events, in the fulness of God's own time, and hoping for the best, it should cheer those interested in the mission on the shores of the N'yanza, to remember that the Arabs and not Uganda rejected the Christianity Stanley had planted in the country. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 1Q5

CHAPTER VII.

across the dark continent—continued.

Not till November was M'tesa free to listen to Stanley's plans for further exploration. He had to subjugate the outlying and rebellious people of Uvuma, and neither time nor men could be spared to further the white man's wishes. Stan- ley had completely circumnavigated the great Vic- toria N'yanza, and had proved that its sole outlet was over the Bipon falls, from the foot of which the Victoria Nile began. He had reduced Speke's guess of 29,000 square miles, as the area

of the lake, to 21,000 ; had made himself acquaint- ed with the countries surrounding the lake and

their inhabitants ; and had altogether journeyed nearly 2,000 miles on the lake itself. He now wished to proceed to Lakes Muta Nzige and Albert, to investigate their extent and nature, and ascertain the character of the people dwelling on their shores. To this end M'tesa gave him an escort to conduct him to Muta Nzige. To the Albert N'yanza he could not go. 106 HENRY M. STANLEY. for the native states which lay on the line of the march were engaged in one of their ferocious wars, and the danger to the expedition was too great. Rejoining his camp, which, during M ? tesa's campaign, had been pitched at Dumo, he marched to Muta !Nzige with an escort of over 2,000 Waganda. When at the very brink of further discoveries, on the shore of that great arm of the inland sea which he called Beatrice Gulf, the vaunted courage of the Waganda leaders, and all the great deeds they had declared they would perform, evaporated like the morning mist that rose from the placid water. To Stan- ley's immeasurable disgust, they declared their inability to remain any longer in a country whose inhabitants they knew to be hostile, and, consequently, the disloyalty of these wretched cowards balked Stanley of the prize that lay within his grasp, and the world for a time of an accurate knowledge of this vast lake. It is satisfactory to know, at any rate, that M'tesa afterwards pun- ished such treachery with his characteristic severity. Stanley, however, could only gaze—like Tantalus—on the receding waters, and meditate on the " what might have been." On returning to Uganda, Stanley struck due south to Karagwe. Here he investigated the ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 1Q7

Alexandra Nile, proving it to be the most important feeder of the Victoria Lake. Eumanika, the King- of Karagwe, received him most hospitably, and from him and his chiefs Stanley learnt a great deal of the savage tribes dwelling in the countries westward of the lake. He heard from many of a lake of considerable size, which he named the Alexandra, lying to the southwest, and of which the Kagera or Alexandra Nile was an affluent. From native information, however, he gathered that this same river entered the lake at the southern end, and therefore rose in the countries between that lake and the Tanganika. He heard

of wild peoples and cannibals ; of a race almost white, and of a nation of dwarfs. To penetrate

these countries proved impossible ; the chiefs of the intervening districts demanded Jwngo, or trib-

ute, in ruinous quantities ; and the mountainous character of the countries further west, together with the implacability of the natives, effectually prevented the advance of the stranger. Eeluctantly turning his steps southward and eastward, Stanle}^ marched to the Tanganika by a circuitous route which led him through Un- yamwezi— within fifty miles of Unyanyembe—and thence to Ujiji. Here he arrived on May 27th, 1876. He set out almost immediately on his 108 HENRY M. STANLEY. voyage round the Tanganika, for it was part of his mission to entirely circumnavigate all the great lakes, especially with a view to their sources of supply and means of drainage. The important point to be cleared up about the Tanga- nika was whether the Eiver Lukuga, on the west, flowed out of or into the lake. Stanley proved beyond question that, while the creek of Lukuga was so choked with reed and grass that practically no current was discernible, yet a few miles inland the river, cleared of the tangled obstruc- tion, flowed westward with a distinct current.

The Lukuga, therefore, is the sole effluent of the lake, and drains it by a westerly course into the Lualaba.* Towards the end of August, Stanley started with an enfeebled body of men—for fever and smallpox had played havoc with those he had left at Ujiji—upon his march to the Lualaba. He intended here, as elsewhere, to take up the work exactly where Livingstone and his other predeces- sors laid it down, and thus it is we find him marching directly westward for Nyangwe, the most northern point of Livingstone's explorations.

* It should be remembered that Cameron was the first to

discover the Lukuga ; that Stanley proved it to be without doubt an effluent ; and that Thompson, recently, traced its course toward the Lualaba. ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 1Q9

As he advanced, the surrounding country increased in beauty, and the vegetation in luxuri- ance. The wooded hillsides and forested plains

were alive with animal life, and everywhere the villages betokened the presence of plenty. But Stanley kept his force together with the greatest difficulty, for the people of Manyema, the country through which they were passing, were reported to be cannibals, and the feelings of the Wangwana were thereby considerably exercised. Though Stanley had distributed £350 in presents to the people before leaving Ujiji—as a "refresher" to their drooping spirits—yet many desertions took place, and for a time the expedition was in a high state of demoralization. Nothing but firm treatment sufficed at such a crisis as this, and it was fortunate for Stanley that his indomitable character enabled him to grap- ple with the spirit of mutiny in a masterful way. For more than two hundred miles the route lay along the valley of the Luama—a tributary of the Lualaba—and, at its confluence with the great river upon which Livingstone had spent so much time, thought, and labor, Stanley realized that at last he was face to face with a simple problem—he was to follow the river to the ocean, HO HENRY M. STANLEY. and prove or disprove once and forever its identity with the Nile. He was to follow it into countries of which even the natives could give no account, deal with peoples whose very name was unknown, and finally trace it to an end no man could indicate. At Mwana Mamba he met the Arab with whom he was to be afterwards—on this and other expeditions—so closely connected, Hamed Bin Mohammed, alias Tippu Tib. Stanley says of him: — " He was a tall, black-bearded man, of negroid complexion, in the prime of life, straight and quick in his movements, a picture of energy and strength. He had a fine intelligent face, with a nervous twitching of the eyes, and gleam-

ing white and perfectly formed teeth. . . . With the air of a well-bred Arab, and almost courtier- like in his manner, he welcomed me, and his slaves being ready at hand with mat and bolster, he reclined vis-a-vis, while a buzz of admiration of his style was perceptible from the onlookers. After regarding him for a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that this Arab was a remarkable man—the most remarkable man I had met among Arabs, Waswahili, and half-castes in Africa. He was neat in his person, his clothes were of a spotless white, his fez-cap brand new, ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. HI his waist was encircled by a rich dowee, his dagger was splendid with silver filagree, and his tout ensemble was that of an Arab gentleman in very comfortable circumstances." From Tippu Tib, Stanley heard the welcome news that Lieutenant Cameron, who arrived at Nyangwe on that adventurous journey which ultimately led him across Africa, had been prevented from proceeding down the Lualaba by the want of canoes, the disloyalty of his men, and the enormous difficulties stated by the Arabs to exist. Cameron, therefore, had turned back, and journeying southward through Eua, fell in with a number of Portuguese traders, in whose company he traveled to Benguela. The most terrible tales were told by the Arabs of the savages dwelling on the banks of the Lualaba. Dwarfs who shot with poisoned arrows, cannibals who regarded the stranger as so much meat, barbarians who wore no clothing and killed all men they met—these were some of the people to be met on the river, which in itself presented great difficulties. There were many falls and river flowed northward for- many rocks ; and the face of such tes- ever and knew no end ! In the timony from men who had traveled for some distance down the river, Stanley's intention 112 HENRY M. STANLEY.

never swerved ; he was determined to follow the Lualaba to the sea. To help him attain this end, and to inspire his trembling followers with courage, Stanley engaged the services of Tippu Tib, who, in return for £1,000 and rations for his escort, was to bring to Stanley's aid his own personal efforts and influence, assisted by a considerable force of men—about 150 of whom were armed with rifles. On the 5th of November, 1876, the Anglo- American Expedition left Nyangwe—the outpost, as it were, of the Arab traders of the Lake districts—and proceeded on its arduous journey down the Lualaba. As the name soon disappeared, and the river was rebaptized every few miles by the natives, Stanley gave it the name of Living- stone—after him who had given his life for a knowledge of it—and by this name it will here- inafter be mentioned.

For the first ten days the march along the bank

led through a dense forest growth ; so dense that often the travelers could not say if the sun were shining or the sky were overcast. Dew fell from the leafage overheard in drops of rain ; the

narrow track became a ditch of wet mud ; the air reeked with the poisonous fumes of fungi and ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 113

the deadly breath of miasma. At times progress became so difficult that a whole day's march advanced them but six miles. The men were rapidly succumbing to weariness and sickness, and the Arabs in Tippu Tib's train clamored loudly for retreat. Even Tippu Tib himself came to Stanley and declared his unwillingness to proceed ; although by doing so he forfeited his claim to the £1,000. Stanley was desperate. If he attempted to march without the great Arab, he knew that his expedition would be no more ; that the Wangwana would desert to a man. By dint of argument, however, and the sum of five hundred pounds, he induced Tippu to accompany him twenty marches further, at the end of which Stanley hoped he would be able to obtain canoes for the whole of his expedition and take to the river for the rest of the journey. At the confluence of the Euiki with the Living- stone they first fell in with cannibals. These savages attacked the crew of the Lady Alice, in a small camp they had made on the banks, and with the avowed intention of getting "meat."

After a sharp fight, they were vigorously repulsed. About this spot the Livingstone has a width of a mile, and flows between forests, dark

with dense undergrowth. Islands, clad to theii* 8 114: HENRY M. STANLEY. edges with tropical foliage, stud the broad bosom of the stream, and here and there the banks give way, and the eye travels along the reedy meander- ings of some shady creek. At Ukassa, rapids were encountened for the first time, and as the river suddenly narrowed at this point, dangerous eddies and whirls made progress slow and cautious. All this while the main body was marching with Tippu Tib and his followers, along the left bank, and Stanley, with some thirty companions, navigated the river in the boat. At this part of the river, the inhabitants of the villages fled on the approach of the travelers, giving them no chance to buy food, or gain information about the locality. They were obliged to take what food they found, for the enfeebled condition of the men could not withstand the attacks of hunger. Stanley wrote about this " time : There was work enough in the stricken expedition for a dozen physicians. Every day we tossed two or three bodies into the deep waters of the Livingstone. Frank and I endeavored our utmost to alleviate the misery, but when the long caravan was entering camp, I had many times to turn my face away, lest the tears should rise at sight of the miserable victims of ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 115

disease who reeled and staggered through the

streets. Poor creatures, what a life ! wandering, ever wandering in search of graves.'' On reaching Ikondu, one of the much-talked-of dwarfs was caught and brought into camp. A little over 4 feet in height, diminutive in proportions, and altogether puny in appearance, he did not seem to represent a very formidable race. But these dwarfs are very nimble, and the arrows they shoot are invariably poisoned. Soon after, when the boat-party were encamped on the bank, awaiting the arrival of the column marching by land, hundreds of wild savages attacked them, blowing their war-horns, and yelling their war- cries, and shooting clouds of poisoned arrows. All that day and through the greater part of the night the contest went on. Early next morning the fight was renewed, and continued with few interruptions till night. On the following day, re- inforced by about a thousand neighbors in canoes, the savages attacked again, and this time with desperate fury. From the forest on the one side and the river on the other they came in vast numbers, showering their arrows on the gallant little band. In the midst of the battle, the advance guard of the land column made its appearance, and at the sight of the reinforcements —

116 HENRY M. STANLEY. the natives retreated. During the night, which was dark and stormy, Stanley crossed the river to the island whither those who attacked in canoes had retired, and under cover of darkness cut the canoes adrift and floated them down the river to his camp. Being now in a position to make his own terms, he rowed to the island on the following morning, and offered the surprised owners fifteen of their canoes if they would make peace. This they consented to do—Stanley re- serving twenty-three for conveying his expedition down the river. But the Arabs had had enough of this wild country and its turbulent people, and Tippu Tib declared that he and his men would not go one step further to what they knew to be certain destruction. Only 12 of the stipulated 20 marches had been performed, but Stanley saw that the time had come for the final parting, and accordingly released Tippu Tib from his agreement rewarding him with a draft for about £500, together with numerous presents for himself and his chief people. Through the fidelity and courage of some of the Wangwana, Stanley was able to arouse the enthusiasm of his own band in the coming voyage down the river, and with such good effect that, in finally leaving Tippu Tib and !

ACEOSS THE DARK CONTINENT. H7 his camp behind, not one of the expedition had deserted.

On the following day the little flotilla was attacked from both banks at once. Hundreds of savages with gaily feathered heads and painted faces dashed out at them, shooting their spears " and shouting Meat ! Meat ! Ah ! Ha ! We shall " have plenty of meat ! But they were to be de- frauded of the expected feast, for the well aimed rifles of the Wangwana soon struck terror into their midst, and compelled them to seek the cover of the shore, and their meat in more legitimate quarters.

Again and again, as the expedition floated down the river, some twenty or thirty canoes would shoot out from the shore, despite the long- drawn cries of " Sennenneh—Sen-nen-neh " (Peace, peace), which the interpreter of the party

would raise ; the cannibals ignored everything but the advent of so much food to their market u We shall eat meat to-day, Oho ! We shall eat meat."

The sixth of January, 1877, found the little band of daring spirits at the first cataract of the Stanley Falls. From this point for about 60 miles the great volume of the Livingstone rushes through narrowed and lofty banks, in a series of 118 HENRY M. STANLEY.

rapids interspersed with steep falls. Nearly the

whole of the distance is impracticable for boats, and Stanley had to force his way along the bank, through jungle and forest and over cliffs and rocks, blazing a path through dense wood, and clambering over rugged and precipitous banks. The whole of the distance he was exposed to the murderous attacks of cannibal savages who, while the boat and canoes were transported, the necessary roads cut, and the camps made, never relaxed their efforts to exterminate the party. By the 28th of the month the seventh cataract was cleared, and once more the expedition was enabled to resume its voyage down stream. Space prevents our entering into all the hair- breadth escapes and dangerous undertakings which formed the daily program of the expedition. There was one event, however, which must be described, as exhibiting with unwonted force the truth of the old adage, " There's but a step between us and the grave." This was the narrow escape of Saidi from destruction in the fall below Ntunduru Island. Some way above the rapids, the canoe which this faithful follower of Stanley had been steering was upset, and the crew managed to swim to another canoe which ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 119 was near. Saidi, hoping to save the canoe of which he had charge, clung to it. But he was rapidly carried down hy the ever-increasing current to the edge of the falls. By the merest chance, the canoe struck against a small rock which, at the very brink of the fall, jutted out

it of the swirling current ; and, splitting in two, became jammed against the rock. Saidi, with wonderful presence of mind, clung to the rock and steadied himself by the upturned pieces of the canoe. The waves washed over his knees, and all around the brown swirling waters of the upper stream, and the roar of the falls below, threatened him with instant destruction the moment he lost his hold. For a time Stanley was puzzled how to act. After a few minutes' consideration, he had three strong cables made of twisted rattans, and attached these to a canoe. He then called for vol- unteers. The ever faithful Uledi, coxswain of the Lady Alice, was the first to move. " Master," said he, " I will go. Mambu kwa mungu—my fate is in the hands of God." A boat boy named Marzouk then stepped forward, and inspired by example, several others volunteered to go. But two lives were enough to risk at one time, and Uledi and Marzouk took 120 HENRY M. STANLEY. their places in the canoe. It was then launched —someway up the bank—cautiously paddled into the stream, and allowed to float down on the rapid current. On nearing Saidi, Uledi threw a short twisted cable towards him, which, after several attempts, he caught. At the same moment the party on shore, who were holding the canoe in check with the cables, began to haul it ashore. But the moment the full force of the current seized it, all the three cables snapped like blades of scorched grass, and the canoe with its brave and faithful occupants began to glide towards the falls. Saidi had been knocked off his friendly rock in the act of catching the cable, and was now hanging just over the fall, and clinging like a leech to the one thing between him and death. As the canoe drifted towards him his weight directed its course against the rock from which he had but the moment before been rescued. In a twinkling, Uledi and his companion leaped out of the canoe and hauled the half-drowned

Saidi on to the rock. So far they were saved ; but matters were worse than ever, for there were now three men, instead of one, to be rescued. At this juncture night fell with that mysteri- ous rapidity peculiar to tropical regions, and all further attempts were postponed till the morning. !

ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 121

Early on the following day, the 15th of January, 1877, Stanley set his men to make several strong cables of rattans. Attaching a length of whip- cord to a stone and hurling it towards the little group upon the rock—who, after a score or so of vain attempts, caught it—Stanley motioned to them to draw the cables over. This was done, one end remaining with the rescuers. Then Uledi, binding himself with loose rattans to a couple of cables, plunged into the rushing flood, and, half-drowned by the swirling waves, was slowly drawn to land. Saidi followed, and then Marzouk. They were saved at last Sometimes, however, there were accidents whose fatal results were not averted—lives swept down the devouring rapids, which were never rescued. The descent of the Congo was too often marked by death, and Stanley's days were never free from anxiety or toil. The river, broadening out, now flowed on in a distinct westerly course, and this, coupled with the temporary cessation of hostilities, raised the wearied spirits and put strength into the weakened bodies of the party in a wonderful degree. For not long, however, were they to have peace, and in a few days they were passing through a running fire from either bank. Day after day, 122 HENRY M. STANLEY. as they dropped down stream, new tribes appeared, but ever in the old garb of enemies. Gradually the river widened to about 4,000 yards, islands became more numerous, and the banks rose on either hand high and steep. But an eternal forest dwelt on the islands, the banks, and the interior, and the only clear spaces here and there were occupied by villages or used as market places by the tribes of this fluvial region. Noble tributaries, from a furlong to a mile in width, occasionally swelled the ever-increasing river, and revealed by their magnitude the great extent of country drained by the many waters of the Livingstone.

Off the mouth of the Aruwimi, which is an important tributary to the great river on the right bank, and more than a mile wide at its confluence, a determined attack was made upon the travelers by about 2000 savages. They had the largest canoes yet met with—some containing more than 100 men—and rushed to the fray with all the "pomp and panoply of war" which pre- sumptuous ignorance and overweening pride in superior numbers led them to assume. Stanley coolly anchored his little fleet in mid-stream, and received them with such a succession of well directed volleys that, in a comparatively short ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 123

time, the heroes who had stalked to war sneaked gladly home. Thus ended the twenty-eighth pitched battle the unfortunate little fleet had been compelled to fight—harassing work indeed for strangers in a strange land. Truly might they be called Ishmaelites, for every one's hand was against them, and theirs, perforce, against every one. A hundred miles or so west of the Aruwimi the Livingstone reaches its most northerly point, and amid a perfect maze of islands the canoes, with the Lady Alice ever at their head, threaded their course in a southwesterly direction. A greater danger now lay in their path, for, for the first time, their opponents were armed with guns brought up from the coast by native traders. When off the country of Bangala no less than sixty canoes, filled with men armed with

firearms, attacked Stanley's party ; and with the overpowering odds of over 300 guns to 44—now

- the full strength of the expedition. Fortunate]}1 for Stanley, both his weapons and ammunition were of a better stamp. For nearly five hours the conflict waged, and then the victory rested, as it had so many times before, with the Ever- Victorious Expedition. On the 9th of March, when encamped on the a

124 HENRY M. STANLEY. left bank for breakfast, a sudden attack made by natives, armed with guns, ended in another victory for Stanley, although it left him with fourteen men wounded. This was the thirty-second fight forced on him by the savages he had encountered since leaving Nyangwe, and it proved to be the last. Three days later the wearied voyagers entered a wide basin, surrounded by lofty cliffs, white and gleaming, on the flat top of which grew green and succulent grass. Hav- ing an area of more than thirty square miles, the basin seemed to the eyes which had grown accustomed to the river— wide though it was, nearly five miles in places—just like a vast pool —and at Frank Pocock's suggestion it was named

Stanley Pool, and the lofty white cliffs, Dover Cliffs. Passing out of the Pool, the roar of a great cataract burst upon their ears. This was the first of a long series of falls and rapids which were to continue until they reached Boma— distance of 155 miles—in the course of which there were no less than thirty-two falls, and an average declination of the river of about seven feet per mile. Stanley gave to this enormous stretch of cataracts and rapids the name of " Livingstone Falls." The difficulties presented by man had, to a great extent, passed away, ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 125 only to reveal obstacles offered by nature—obstacles, indeed, which were to deal a severer blow to Stanley and the expedition than had all the cunning and violence of those savages who regarded their fellow-creatures as so much prey. On the 28th of March, 1877, at the Fifth Fall, by an unfortunate accident, whilst cautiously creeping down the rapids, a large canoe got adrift into mid-stream, and in a few seconds was hurled over the fall, whirled round several times, and then sucked in by the maelstrom which raged below. In this canoe were four men and Stanley's favorite page, Kalulu. It will be remembered that Kalulu had been given to Stan- ley when at Unyanyembe on his search for Livingstone. He had since been to Europe and America with his master, and tiad accompanied him wherever he went. Stanley naturally felt the loss keenly—the more so as it might have been easily averted. For Kalulu had been closer to him than any of his native servants. Through many an attack of fever he had been nursed by his page with the tenderness and care of a woman.

At the end of a weary day's march, it was from Kalulu's hands that he received the grateful cup

of coffee or chocolate ; it was Kalulu who roused him in the early morning and gave him his M. STANLEY. ± 2€> HENRY chotahazri, or first breakfast, of bananas and of coffee. Kalulu himself bad been an object interest and care on the part of Stanley. Born a prince, and subsequently captured by Arab marauders and sold into bondage, the witness of deeds of untold cruelty to the wretched natives, Kalulu was a personification of the vicissitudes and misery caused by the slave-trade. At one time Stanley had cherished the idea of marching into the country over which Kalulu's father had reigned as king, and giving his page his own sense of duty had led the again ; but the stern explorer to do that which lay nearest to him, the arduous labors of which left him neither time nor inclination to prosecute a desire highly creditable to his feelings. The lad who had been born a prince, sold into slavery, and given as a page to the white man who had cared for him as he might for his own child—after traveling in Europe and America, and studying at school in England—went to his death over the wild falls of the Livingstone, and found his last resting-place

in some silent pool below the remorseless rapids. Progress was very slow, for none of the cataracts and few of the rapids could be navigated. The canoes and all the stores had to be dragged over-land from point to point—now over rocks, ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 127

now through jungle, and now again over table- land. On arriving at the Massassa Falls, Stan-

KALULU AND STANLEY. ley pitched his camp on the cliff commanding the river, leaving the canoes to work their way 128 HENRY M. STANLEY.

down stream, from rock to rock, as far as they could. Frank Pocock, who was to follow him to

the camp, by some strange fatal perversity, in-

sisted on going with the canoes to the falls, and then, as if urged to his fate by an irresistible impulse, declared his intention to shoot them. Too late he realized the full danger. The canoe was caught by the rushing tide, flung over the falls, tossed from wave to wave, and then dragged down into the swirling depths of the whirlpools

below. The crew struggled to the surface ; the insensible form of Pocock was shot up by the eddy

only to be sucked in again and never more seen ! The men were rescued, but the ''little master," as he was called, had gone from them forever. To Stanley the blow was crushing. He

' mourned for him as for a brother. ' Thirty-four months," he wrote, "had we lived together, and hearty throughout had been his assistance, and true had been his service. The servant had long

ago merged into the companion ; the companion had soon become a friend. . . . As I looked at the empty tent, a choking sensation of unutterable grief filled me. The sorrow-laden mind fondly recalled the lost man's inestimable qualities, his extraordinary gentleness, his patient temper, his

industry, cheerfulness, and his tender friendship ; ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 129 it dwelt upon the pleasure of his society, his general usefulness, his piety, and the cheerful trust in our success with which he had renewed our hope and courage ; and each new virtue that it remembered only served to intensify my sorrow for his loss, and to suffuse my heart with pity and respect that, after the exhibition of so many admirable qualities, and such long faithful service, he should depart this life so abruptly, and without reward." To such a tribute to Frank Pocock's worth, nothing need be added. At the Isangila Cataract—where the already explored " Congo " began—Stanley left the river, which had been so fraught with adventure, privation, and sorrow, and started on a direct line across country to Boma—the nearest European settlement, and about 60 miles distant. The long line straggled on, weary and footsore, faint from insufficient food—for a few bananas and ground nuts were all they could procure—and silent from suffering. When half the distance had been traversed, and no food was forthcoming, Stanley wrote a letter of earnest appeal to any Europeans who might be at Boma, and sent this letter by his ever faithful and willing coxswain, Uledi. A most generous and timely response was made by two gentlemen who represented an 10 130 HENRY M. STANLEY.

English firm there, and just as the poor wretched Zanzibaris were lying down by the roadside, gaunt with starvation and resigned to fate, the welcome appearance of Uledi at the head of a caravan of goodly supplies brought new life back to the weary souls, and supplied the sinews for the continuance of the journey. On August 9th, 1877, the more than decimated expedition marched into Bom a, 999 days after leaving Zanzibar, having traveled over 7000 miles in that time. The reception accorded to Stanley partook of the nature of a triumph, and the first few days at Boma were given up to that delicious rest and oblivion of danger from which he had so long been an exile. From Boma the expedition was taken in a steamer to French Point and Kabinda—thence to San Paul de Loanda in a Portuguese gunboat. After being feted by the Portuguese authorities, Stanley embarked again with his people on an English man-of-war for Cape Town, where his followers were enabled to see the wonderful works of the white men—chief among which was the "fire carriage "—the locomotive. Once more the voyagers took ship, and this time their destination was Zanzibar, where all arrived in the highest of spirits and greatly improved health on the 26th of November. We ACROSS THE DARK CONTINENT. 131 have no space to detail the joy and emotion, or the surprise and admiration with which the prowess of Stanley and the deeds of the Anglo-

American Expedition were regarded. The feelings of all may be very much more easily imagined than described. The "good master" had not only performed what he had set out to do, had not only crossed those distant lakes even to the great Salt Sea beyond, but had brought back his faithful Wangwana to their own homes, there to reward them with his own hand, and see them with his own eyes at rest at last. The price paid for this success was great. His white companions had all died, and with them in their deaths were no fewer than 170 natives. The financial cost was enormous. But the aim and end of the Anglo-American Expedition had been achieved, the great geographical problems of the Dark Continent solved, and Stanley had performed the task allotted to him, with a success so brilliant as to make him the cynosure of the admiring eyes of two hemispheres. 132 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER VIII.

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER.

Stanley returned to Europe, but not, as he had anticipated, to his well-earned rest. On arriving at Marseilles, in his journey across Europe, he was met by representatives of Leopold II., King of the Belgians, who informed him that their Sovereign contemplated some great undertaking in Africa, and that he looked to Stanley for assistance in prosecuting it with success.

This was in January, 1878, but it was not till the end of the year that the project took final shape and Stanley prepared to revisit Africa. In the meanwhile he was occupied by lecturing to great audiences, by a voluminous correspondence, and a careful study of the details of the proposed expedition. In June he published the account of his journey across Africa, under the title of " Across the Dark Continent.*' The book had an immense sale, and gave an impetus to African projects which resulted in numerous undertakings. On the river Congo, lakes Victoria and ;

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 133

Tanganika, in West, East, and Central Africa, missions were established by several denomina-

tions ; French, Portuguese, and German travelers set out to explore vast regions of the Continent and there began a series of annexations by the European powers which have continued up to the present time. In November, 1878, at the palace of the Belgian King, an Association was formed for the purpose of utilizing the vast basin of the Congo for the

benefit of the vaster world, and developing its

natural wealth simultaneously with civilizing its people. Kepresentatives of most of the European States were among the prominent members of this

novel company, and it finally received the title of "The International Association of the Congo." To Stanley was offered the all-important post of chief of the expedition which was to initiate the work—an offer which recruited health and his characteristic enterprise led him to accept with hearty promptness. The exact nature of the work before him may be considered under three heads—philanthropic, scientific, and commercial. Philanthropy was to be represented by urgent attempts to bring the savage tribes infesting the upper reaches of the Congo to something like a reasonable toleration 134 HENRY M. STANLEY. of the white man and the stranger. They were to be shown the benefits of peace and trade, and the advantages accruing to them by intercourse with the civilized world. Above all, they were to be secured from the horrors of the slave trade. Science was to be served by the contemplated surveys of the basin of the river which would reveal the physical geography and natural facilities and productions of the region. And, lastly, the work of the Association was to advance commerce, to provide an outlet for the great wealth of the interior : an opening for the manufactures of Europe. By the medium of roads, rivers, and bridges, by the founding of settlements and the cultivation of land, by the pacification of hostile tribes and the establishment of a secure main route, by means of the exchange of goods and other commercial methods, the Association was to achieve the gradual civilization of the Congo

tribes, and the permanent founding of a vast

field for the energies of the whole commercial world. The great share which Stanley had in furtherance of so wide an aim—so almost Quixotic a conception—this and the following chapters will show. In the spring of 1879, Stanley sailed for Africa

in a specially chartered steamer. Proceeding —

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 135

first to Zanzibar, he engaged about seventy Wangwana, the majority of whom had crossed Africa with him. In May, he sailed for the Congo, via the Eed Sea and the Mediterranean, and arrived off Banana Point—the settlement at the mouth— on the 14th of August, having been much delayed, by awaiting further orders, at several ports en route. At this place Stanley met his assistant officers, eleven in number. Two were English, five Belgians, one Frenchman, one American, and two Danes. The " baggage " of the expedition was, of course, as bulky as it was heterogeneous. It comprised among other things—four screw steamers and launches, one paddle steamer, and several large steel lighters, etc. The cost of these alone was about £5,000. Then there were wooden houses of

a portable character ; iron store-sheds, wagons, implements, arms and ammunition, tools, tons of canned provisions, and thousands of odds and ends, all more or less useful and indispensable. As far as Ponta da Lenha or Wood-Point, a distance of M miles from Banana Point—the Congo is navigable by the largest sea-going steamers. Above this, however, the river rapidly shallows, and fluctuates in depth according to the season of the year. 136 HENRY M. STANLEY.

The next point of interest on the Congo is

Boma, where it will be remembered Stanley met with so hospitable a welcome in 1877. Boma, like Banana Point, is a great factory settlement.

It is composed of large warehouses and store- sheds, belonging to trading companies of English, Dutch, French and Portuguese nationalities. These companies also own several large and small steamers, the latter used for carrying on business on the river, and the former for plying between Europe and the coast. In the reaches of the Lower Congo these steamers are a frequent feature in the otherwise monotonous scene, and at the time of Stanley's arrival on the "West Coast, that part of the Lower Congo which lies between Baoana Point and Boma presented the busy appearance of a mercantile river. The landscape in which Boma forms the attractive spot is wide and vast. Northward there ridges up against the heated sky a long uneven mass of hills, blue and cool in the hazy distance. Southward these hills are repeated, but in miniature. Filling the whole of the foreground and the middle distance—sweeping toward you on your left, and away from you on your right—the mighty Congo moves with silent, certain pace toward the sea. When the rains have fallen, the —

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 137 country is carpeted with a vivid green, but a few months later, the vertical rays of a tropical sun have scorched every leaf and blade to tinder. Then follow the bush fires, bequeathing their legacy of embers, where succulent grass, gorgeous flowers, and thick undergrowth of bush once flourished. This bequest of charred trunks and blackened branches deprives the environment of Boma of what beauty it might have had, and imparts a dismal monotony to the landscape. But the white man has introduced features which do not change conditions which are permanent. Machine shops, iron sheds, coal yards —a whole village of European houses—a whole town of huts belonging to the native employes a large and well-designed hospital, on an elevated and airy site—and lastly, a staunch iron pier, thrusting its girders and spans far out into are the new features which the the river ; these seasons do not alter, and which one may safely predict are permanent. What traders accomplished for their own ends on the lower reaches of the Congo, Stanley was to achieve in the broader and more enlightened spirit of the Asso- ciation on the upper waters of that vast river. About 40 miles from Boma, the Congo suddenly, and temporarily, assumes the character of 138 HENRY M. STANLEY. a Colorado river, and rushes downward through a canon of lofty and bare rock in a succession of falls and rapids. The foot of this canon is naturally the limit of navigation from the sea. At this point, goods destined for the upper river have to be transported across country. Here, therefore, Stanley determined to found his chief settlement, and create his base for further exploration. Having purchased the exclusive right of the district from the native chiefs, he proceeded to make his mark upon the country. At the foot of the rapids, on the right bank of the river, rises the mountain of Vivi, and on an uneven plateau of that mountain—about 350 feet above the river—Stanley formed his first settlement. The plateau was leveled, the gigantic rocks that sprouted up here and there were smashed into pieces and used for foundations, a road was made from the narrow beach to the chosen spot, several houses were built both for Europeaus and natives, and, finally, a large garden was formed by carrying rich soil from the valley and laying it in previously excavated ground. In a short time this garden came to be a boon to the white men residing at the station, affording the only spot on the bare and sterile hills where shade from the STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. I39 glaring sunshine could be found. In pulverizing the scattered rocks, Stanley, to whom idleness of any kind was an abhorrence, showed such skill with the sledge-hammer that the native chiefs gave him the name of " Bula Matari "—the Stone-breaker—by which title he soon became known to all the tribes dwelling upon the Congo. In three months the settlement at Yivi was finished, and " Onward " became the policy of the expedition. Leaving an American—named Spar- hawk—in charge of Yivi, Stanley marched to Isangila for the purpose of determining the direction of the road that was to be made. It will be remembered that from Vivi to Isangila the river is incapable of navigation, owing to the numerous cataracts and rapids which are known as the Livingstone Falls. Isangila is fifty- two miles distant from Vivi, and the intervening country is extremely rocky and rugged. The native tracks led, as usual, up and down the hills and valleys—straight as Roman roads—but it was not possible for a wagon road to be made over such country. Stanley finally decided on a route which in many places was fairly level, while in others it became steep and rocky, requiring much work before it could serve the purpose intended. This road-making from Yivi to Isangila 110 HENRY M. STANLEY. was one of the most arduous duties of the expedition, involving a great deal of planning as well as much labor. Once at Isangila, the boats could be launched upon the river and, with the exception of the Upper Livingstone Falls, the wide reaches of the Congo would, from there to the foot of the Stanley Falls, form a natural highway, requiring nothing but navigation. With a force of 106 men, Stanley started on " " his road-making ; and if we may judge from his own journals, the number was miserably small for such work. The first few miles ran through grass from ten to fifteen feet in height, and of the thickness of bamboo. In one day about half-a-mile was made through such country. This indeed was splendid work, but they had something different from grass awaiting them. Moving slowly onward, at night camping by the road at the spot where they left off work, slowly but surely they approached the rocky hills that lay between them and Isangila. With enormous labor a vast mountain mass was circumvented, and a roadway created by blasting along the face of the cliffs, and but a few feet above the surging rapids. Gullies had to be bridged, small ravines filled up, two large forests cut through, and a thousand and one difficulties STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 141

overcome. As each length of road was completed, Stanley returned to Vivi and brought up several tons of baggage. These visits to Vivi were usually far from brief holidays, for the trouble with the European assistants was never-ending

—some being ill and unable to work, others being

mutinous and refusing to work ; many left for Europe, and their places were filled by new arriv- als, with whom the whole process of acclimatiza- tion and initiation into their work had to be repeated. Stanley himself was not free from illness, and the road-making was occasionally delayed on account of it. At the end of a year the road was at last finished. The marching and counter-marching between Vivi and the ever lengthening road had led the "Stone-breaker"

over about 2, 300 miles ! The year had been big with toil and fraught with trial. Six Europeans had died, and thirteen had retired invalided, and the natives had also succumbed in numbers to the oppressive heat of the Congo Canon. But the work had been done, and done well, and from Vivi to Isangila there was a fifteen feet road, along which the heaviest wagons, laden with steamers, launches and boats, could safely travel.

By the 1st May, all the fifty tons of baggage had been transported to Manyanga—140 miles 142 HENRY M. STANLEY. above Vivi—and Stanley began treating with the natives for permission to found a settlement in their district. Within a few days, he was prostrated with a severe attack of fever, from which he thought, at one time, he could not rally. But his constitution proved even stronger than his temperament, and after many days he was able to move about again. Just at this time came the news that a large number of Zanzibaris were on

the road to Manyanga ; and this, coupled with the final settlement of the treaty question with the natives, helped him towards recovery by leaps and bounds. The expedition was now within measurable distance of Stanley Pool, and up to this point the natives had been friendly and hospitable in the extreme. Even now no outward hostility was shown, but the native chiefs displayed the very greatest repugnance to the founding of any

permanent station. They imagined it would deprive them of their inter-tribal trade, and prevent the holding of their frequent markets. In one case, that of Ngalyema, King of Ntamo, over £200 was spent in inducing him to grant the white man a concession, and a few weeks afterwards he became actively hostile. But there was a greater personage than Ngalyema, and this STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 1^3 was Makoko, the great chief of the Wambundu, who to a six-foot beard added, all the dignity expected of a lord of many acres. Makoko proved staunch and friendly, aud ultimately Ngalyema, whose town was Kintamo, welcomed Stanley to his district. This was exactly what the latter desired, for the neighborhood of Kintamo was the most suitable locality for the proposed station. On the southern bank, just above the cataracts which mark the rapid drop from Stanley Pool to the river, the settlement of Leopoldville was founded. It stands in an excellent position between the Lower and Upper Congo, on the southwestern corner of Stanley Pool, which connects the rivers. On lofty ground, overlooking Kin- tamo Bay and sloping towards the river, Stanley cleared his site, and began building. Out of the hillside he cut a long and wide terrace, and upon this the various buildings were erected. The largest house, headquarters, was stoutly made of wood, and then plastered with clay to the depth of two feet. This would form, in the event of subsequent hostilities, an excellent fort into which the garrison could retreat. The

native village was built a little distance away,

and as it had even then to accommodate over 150

natives, its proportions were considerable. Head- 144 HENRY M. STANLEY.

quarters contained five bedrooms, a commodious dining-room, and a strong magazine. A garden was laid out, sheds and houses were erected for

live stock of various descriptions ; and, in short,

all that an important station could require was, after much labor, supplied.

During all this time the camp was much dis- turbed by the frequent petty acts of hostility committed by Ngalyema, and at last it became evident that, if peace was to be preserved, the white man and the black must make what was called " blood brotherhood." Stanley tells how this curious operation—which, by the bye, he had frequently undergone—was performed. "We crossed arms, an incision was made in each arm, some salt was placed on the wound, and then a mutual rubbing took place, while the great fetish man of Kintamo pronounced an in- conceivable number of curses on my head if ever I proved false. Susi (formerly Livingstone's headman), not to be outdone by him, solicited the gods to visit unheard of atrocious vengeances on Ngalyema if he dared to make the slightest breach in the sacred brotherhood, which made him and Bula Matari (the stone-breaker) one and indivisible forever."

Stanley sums up his work at Leopold ville thus : —

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 145

En Avant, a paddle boat over forty feet in length, with a draught of only

eleven inches ; and, after passing through many miles of fertile country, enduring much opposition on the part of the natives, including the mosquitoes of the locality, he entered a large lake which he thereupon circumnavigated and named Lake Leopold. This was all he was to do for some time, for fever suddenly attacked him and prostrated him to such an extent that he was brought back to Leopoldville in a delirious condition. When slightly recovered, he journeyed in easy stages down the river, and thence to San Paul de Loanda, where he embarked for a visit to Europe, after an absence of three years. What had been accomplished in that time? Much. Stanley's original instructions were to found three stations, launch a steamer on the Upper Congo, and keep touch between his stations and the sea. Five stations had been erected2 STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 147 a sailing boat as well as a steamer plied on the Upper Congo, and a launch continually kept up communication between the stations. Besides this, a wagon road had been constructed between Stanley Pool and Manyanga, and from Isangila down to Vivi. Generally speaking, the native tribes had proved friendly, and, in some cases, willing to hire out their services. The influence of the International Association had been spread from Boma to Stanley Pool, and from thence to the confluence of the Kwa with the Congo—that is to say, a distance of over 400 miles. Thus far, then, had the thin end of the wedge penetrated ; much had been done, but more, far more, remained to be done. The first "phase" of the work had been completed, and there was now the slower, more diplomatic task of extending the area of influence by persuading the native chiefs to concede their power over the river regions to the Association. Those political rights, without which the great work begun might be thwarted if not ruined by the hostility of any envious cor- poration or greedy trader, were to be secured to the Association. Its officers were to have power of life and death, law and order, over the districts adjoining their stations, and under their immediate control, 148 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Stanley placed all this, and much more, before the Association on his return to Europe, and the Executive Committee announced that they were prepared to undergo all the expense that such an extension of efforts would cause, provided that Stanley would return to carry on the pioneering work on the Upper Congo, and generally direct the action of the entire undertaking. On his part, Stanley announced his willingness to accept the task, after he had made a few stipulations which he deemed necessary for the success of the work. In November, 1882, he sailed again for the Congo, there to resume the task committed to him by the " Association Internationale Africaine."

Before closing this chapter, it may be well to give a brief resume of the general character of

the Congo and its basin, thus making what follows more clearly understood. This river, which exceeds 3000 miles in length, has been divided for the sake of convenience into well-

defined sections. The Lower Congo is that part of the river between Leopoldville, on Stanley

Pool, and the sea, and is about 330 miles in length.

Of this, the reach between the sea and Vivi, 110

miles, is navigable. From Vivi to Isangila, a distance of 50 miles, the Lower Livingstone Falls STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. J.49 prevent navigation, but thence to Manyanga, about 90 miles, the river, broken in places, be- comes navigable. At Manyanga the Upper Livingstone Falls are met with, and, consequently, from these to Leopoldville a road had to be made. The Upper Congo begins at Stanley Pool, and for over a 1000 miles—that is to say to Stanley

Falls—the river is navigable, and forms a grand highway for commerce right into the heart of

Africa. Following the river up still higher from the foot of Stanley Falls, a length of nearly 400 miles of more or less broken water, the "traveler would arrive at Nyangwe. Thence to Lake

Moero or Mweru is another 400 miles. Lake

Bangweolo or Bemba is 220 miles distant from Moero, and nearly 400 miles from Bemba, the Congo, under the name of the Chambesi, takes its rise. From Stanley Falls to Lake Moero the river was called by Livingstone the Webb- Lualaba.

The maritime region of the Congo basin is re- stricted and a few miles inland the ground slopes upward, until we are confronted by successive ridges of hills gradually rising to mountain height. Through this mountainous region the Congo runs as in a canon, and not until Stanley 150 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Pool is reached does the river spread out to its great breadth and most placid pace, amid fertile plains and prolific vegetation. The largest affluents from the south are the Kwa, into which flows the noble Kasai. This river, with which the name of Wissman, the German explorer, is closely identified, extends over an area of about seven degrees of latitude. Next comes the Euki, at whose mouth Equator- ville has since been built ; and the Lulongo, which drains a densely populated country. The chief tributaries on the north bank are the Mo- bangi, the most important affluent of the Congo, which drains by its multitudinous head streams the region between the Congo and the Equatorial provinces of Egypt, and from which the names of Captain Van Gele and Dr. Schweinfurth are

inseparable ; the Itimbiri, which flows into the

Congo at its greatest breadth, and, lastly, the Aruwimi, about 150 miles below Stanley Falls. Stanley put the population of the Upper Congo basin down at 43,000,000. Captain Wissman, Dr. Pogge, and other great travelers through portions of this area unite in testifying to the destiny of population and the extent of the so- called "villages." Wissman has put on record his feelings of astonishment at the length of these STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 151 villages—oftentimes five and six miles of continual street ! Tippu Tib told Stanley that he had been two hours passing through some of these villages. The great German traveler, Dr. Schweinfurth, has told us that, in one part of the country, an almost unbroken line of huts and tembes stretches along the caravan route. The people themselves, though often barbarous to the stranger, can readily be approached by means of trade. As keen as any European or American after business, these more than half-naked people will consume hours in attempting to get the upper hand of the trader who offers for sale the white man's handiwork. A few words as to the productions of the Up- per Congo basin will not be out of place here. Naturally, in an equatorial region, the vegetation stands first. The oil palm, valuable for the oil it gives, and its kernels, which are used for oil-cake, is found everywhere—whole forests of it are commonly met. The india-rubber plant is another important factor to be reckoned with. Stanley believed that enough gum could be transported in a year to pay for the much coveted railway ! Vegetable fibers of all kinds are numerous. Then ivory, of course, represents a large, 152 HENRY M. STANLEY. though less satisfactory, source of income. Ac- cording to Stanley's estimate, £250,000 worth of ivory might be collected annually for twenty- five years, and then the elephant would be no

more ; at least, in the basin of the Upper Congo. Vegetables, fruits, and herbs of many kinds grow prolificly. Potatoes, onions, and cabbages have been imported from Europe, and thrive well. Naturally the banana and plantain flour- ish exceedingly. Bread is made of millet flour in

many parts ; in others, the staple nourishment is cassava or manioc. Rice, wheat, and other grains have done well

in suitable localities ; in short there seems little if any limit to the fertility of this glorious area of over a million square miles. STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 153

CHAPTEE IX.

Stanley a state builder—continued.

There is a good old proverb familiar to us all —"When the cat's away, the mice will play," and it is quite certain that, in their chiefs absence in Europe, more was left undone than was done by his co-operators on the Congo. Stanley has placed on record his great disgust at the general demoralization of the stations of the Congo.

There were of course exceptions, and noble in-

stances of adherence to the dictates of duty ; but the general progress proved to be practically nil. Stanley had returned to Africa with fourteen European officers and some 600 tons of material for service on the Congo, and at once set to work to utilize such wealth of men and means. He despatched a force to erect stations along the Kwilu and Niadi rivers, north of the Congo, and reaching the ocean independently. As this district afterwards passed into the possession of the

French, the work of exploration need not be fol- 254: HENRY M. STANLEY. lowed out here. But the keen foresight shown by Stanley, in thus attempting to secure an al- ternative route to the Upper Congo, is at once made evident by glancing at the map. While Stanley was at Vivi, a French trader, indirectly employed by the International Associa- tion, fired at a native interpreter and wounded him severely though not mortally. This das- tardly act caused great excitement, and as the white man was clearly in the wrong, Stanley asked the native chiefs to state the fine that would in their opinion condone the offense. They demanded arms and goods to the value of more than £400 ! After two hours of palavering, Stanley managed to reduce this rather high valu- ation to about £24. The Frenchman's revolver was also yielded up—to be smashed into atoms.

This occurrence illustrates two facts ; the first, the wanton and often lawless behavior of the men Stanley had to command, and the second, that, in spite of the extreme cupidity of the native mind, it is amenable to reason and argument.

Indeed all through Stanley's career in Africa one is struck by the degree of success his "palavering " obtained. From the most obdurate chiefs he seldom failed to get an abatement of the hongo, or tribute, they started with demanding. STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 155

He has told us of cases where he has been summoned to yield up 50 doti of cloth, and yet managed to induce the petty tyrant to accept one doti. It is possible that more chaffering and bargaining goes on in Africa—from Zanzibar to Loanda, and Alexandria to Cape Town—than in aoy two of the other great continents. Proceeding up the river to Manyanga, Stanley despatched one of his officers to conclude treaties with all the tribes on the south bank of the river between Manyanga and Leopoldville. Stations were also to be erected. The temporary track between Manyanga and Stanley Pool was taken in hand and converted into an excellent road. As Stanley slowly journeyed along the river, organizing, strengthening, and encouraging the various stations and posts as he went, news came from Leopoldville that the garrison of that entrepot was starving. Despatching provisions with all speed, Stanley pushed forward over the old road he had made four seasons before, and which, through neglect, was beginning to show a promis-

ing crop of young trees ; and on March the 21st, 1883, once more arrived at this finely situated settlement. Matters were in a bad way at Leopoldville. Where Stanley had pictured gardens and culti- 156 HENRY M. STANLEY. vated fields, there was nothing but grass. The native town was almost hidden by the rank growth which had been allowed to work out its own views of existence. The steel-made boats had lain at anchor for more than a year, and no attempt had been made to clean them. The rela- tions between the Europeans and the natives of the district were of the worst description, and so the list of failures ran on. In a word, Leopold- ville had been not merely stationary, but retrogressive. Without loss of time Stanley set himself to mend matters. The currency of this part of Africa is a brass rod, short and slender. Enor- mous numbers are required to make up a respect- able sum of money, which may be well illustrated by stating that, in the coffers of Leopoldville, there remained about 800 rods, which were only just enough to buy provisions for 3 days for the whole station. Stanley sent off a detachment to Vivi, to bring up a caravan loaded with brass rods with all possible speed. From a supply-collecting station he had established at Sabuka, en route, he obtained a quantity of provisions sufficient for all immediate purposes. Here again is observable that careful forethought which has characterized Stanley in all his expeditions. He had anticipated the possibility of such a dilemma, STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 157

and having provided for it, ' suffered in consequence but slight inconvenience. Having held a great "shauri" with all the neighboring chiefs, at which he managed to re- store the good-fellowship which had before existed, Stanley induced the chiefs to sign a treaty by which they and he, on the part of the Association, engaged to control the entire country south and west of Stanley Pool, in a civilized and enlightened manner. In this and all succeeding treaties, it must be remembered that the Association was always regarded as the chief power, and invested with the sovereign rights of peace, war, and commerce. And further, as a visible sign of the new-born confederation, every chief received the Association's flag to fly above his grass-roofed hut on certain stated occasions. As soon as this treaty with the Wambunda was concluded, other chiefs came in and professed their willingness to

confederate ; and up to the time of Stanley's departure for the Upper Congo, everything went " merry as a marriage bell." This departure took place on May the 9th, 1883. The little exploring fleet was composed of the En

Avant, steamer ; the Royal, launch ; and the A.

I. A. (Association Internationale Africaine), steamer. A whale boat and canoe were towed —

158 HENRY M. STANLEY. by the two former. The force amounted in all to eighty men, the cargo to six tons. To quote

Stanley himself : " We have axes to hew the forests, hammers to break the rock, spades to turn up the sod and to drain the marsh, or shovels to raise the rampart ; scythes to mow the grass, hatchets to penetrate the jungle, and seeds of all kinds for

sowing ; saws to rip planking, and hammers, nails, and cabinet-makers' tools to make furni- for sewing all the cloth ture ; needles and thread in these bales, twine to string their beads, and besides these useful articles in the cases, there

' are also countless notions ' and fancy knick- knacks to appease the cupidity of the most powerful chief, or excite the desire for adornment in the breast of woman." Among other items the following may be noted as giving some idea of what the white man trades and journeys with on the Congo :—47 bales of cloth, 600 lbs. of cowries, over 4000 lbs. of brass rods, a case of velvet caps and hats, 6 cases of

fancy beads ; an enormous quantity of medicine, ammunition, and provisions ; 2 cases of garden seeds, and a host of other articles, useful alike to the expedition and the tribes it might encounter. Passing the important stations of Kinshassa STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 159

and Kimpoko on Stanley Pool, and Mswata on the Upper Congo, Stanley emerged above Chum- biri into the wide islet-studded reaches of the Congo. " We have been voyaging," he writes,

4 ' since leaving Boma and the estuary-like breadth of the Lower Congo, in a pass or defile. From Boma to Vivi, we steamed between two lines of

mountain heights ; between Vivi and Isangila, we traveled in a narrow valley parallel with the

chasmic trough of the Congo ; between Isangila and Manyanga, our boats ran up the crooked

ravine-like valley of the river ; between Man- yanga and Leopoldville we marched along the edge of the deep fracture in the high land,

through which the Congo continuously roars ; then after a slight relief, obtained by the lake- like expansion called Stanley Pool, we have been confined again between two mountain lines of more or less picturesqueness, up as far as the rocky point above Chumbiri, to finally emerge into the lacustrine breadth which the voluminous waters of the Congo have scooped out of the plains and lowlands which we now behold extended on either hand, with scarcely any extraordinary rise or hill, until we shall approach the Biyerre affluent. " The real heart of Equatorial Africa is this central fertile region, whose bountiful and un- 160 HENRY M. STANLEY.

paralleled richness of soil will repay the toil and

labor required to bring it within the reach of Europe. It was not the uplands of the maritime region, with their millions of ravines and narrow oven- hot valleys, and bald grass tops, and limited bits of grassy plateaus, with here and there a grove of jungly forest scattered like islets amid

the grassy wastes, that I strove for ; it was this million square miles of almost level area, which we may call the kernel, that was worth the trouble of piercing the 235 miles of thick rude

mountain husk which separates it from the ener-

gies of Europeans, who, could they but reach it, would soon teach the world what good might come out of Africa." At several places, notably at Usindi and Irebu, the advancing expedition had a most flattering

reception, and the larders of the flotilla, which were rapidly emptying, were soon filled to over- flowing. The provisions usually obtained from the Congo tribes consisted of fowls, goats, cassava

bread, beans, rice, curry, honey, milk, sweet pota-

toes, bananas, yams, and palm-wine. Tnough not of great variety, these comestibles were gen-

erally obtained in large quantities ; and, in fact, as the 80 odd members of the expedition con-

sumed nearly 300 lbs. of food per diem, the stock STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 1^1 of provisions needed large as well as frequent supplies. The power by which the steamers were driven provided an inexhaustible source of speculation for the natives. The less philosophical supposed that a number of men were concealed in the hold, but the more astute rightly put it down to the "big pot," as they called the boiler. But even these could not conjecture the thing that " " " the engineer was always cooking ! What- ever it is, " said they, "it takes a long time to cook. That engineer has been cooking all day and it is not finished yet." Finally they fell back upon that invariable dernier ressort of the Afri- — " can "It is the white man's medicine ! At the confluence of the Buruki or Mohundi (Black) River—since called the Euki, and which is nearly a thousand yards in width at its juncture with the Congo, Stanley established a station, which was first called Equator Station, and afterwards Equatorville, on account of its being situated on the Equator. Leaving Lieutenant Van Gele in charge, Stanley returned to Leopold- ville to bring up reinforcements of men and material. On his way he induced the tribes of Irebu, who were waging an internecine war, to " "bury the hatchet ; he then steamed up the ii 102 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Lukanga Kiver, and discovered Lake Mantumba,

which is surrounded by beautiful scenery, and

has a circumference of about 150 miles ; and finally arrived at Leopoldville after an absence of two months. Shortly after this, owing to some misunderstanding, the desultory fighting which the natives call a " war" broke out in the neighborhood of Bolobo, and Stanley, who hastened to the scene, had his little fleet fired at for the first time in the

four years he had spent upon the Congo ! The

natives were aroused, and it required about ten days of continual "Shauris," and a harmless exhibition of the powers of a Krupp gun, to procure peace. Stanley has been credited with the

reputation of a " fighting man," and therefore it

is only due to him to point out how, again and again, in his intercourse with the Congo tribes, he prevented bloodshed even among the natives themselves by the exercise of a well-timed diplomacy. He scored his next success by inducing the warlike Bangalas, who had fought him furiously when descending the Congo in 1877, to make " blood brotherhood." The country of these

people is Iboko, and it is one of the largest and most powerful on the Upper Congo. Proceeding STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 163 ever up stream, Stanley passed through a perfect archipelago of islands. The forest trees reached the great height of 150 and 200 feet, and the bush was so dense as to be impenetrable without the aid of the ax. While passing along these green- walled straits, Stanley experienced one of those violent storms which are not unusual in any tropical country. With a sudden rustling roar, as if all the miles and miles of forest had been buffeted by a stupendous whirlwind, such a storm begins. The river, which the moment before has been like oil, is now scarred with waves increasing in height and velocity every minute.

The huge trees, with all their attendant parasites and creepers, sway to and fro, shrieking and moaning as if in mortal pain. The leaves are swept in clouds before the rushing wind, and then—then comes the rain. No European shower, but genuine tropical rain, drenching to the skin in a moment, and hailing down pellets of water as large as marbles. If the ground were parched and the grass but tinder an hour ago, now it is covered with running water and the vegetation has revived. Where there was a runnel or a brook, now there is a river. From the four quarters the clouds have gathered and shattered right overhead, letting fall a sea of —

104 HENRY M. STANLEY. water which precipitation converts into rain tropical rain. Before the fury of the tempest man and beast must seek shelter, whether on the open savannah or under the boughs of the groan- ing trees. But in an hour the clouds have passed over and the hailing of the rain is ceased. Faint gusts of wind, ever growing fainter, or the pat- ter of the drops as they fall from leaf to leaf, the rushing streams and broken boughs, are all that marks the track of the storm. The sky is blue as

ever, the sun as fierce ; the thermometer is high up in the sultry regions, and the last, loose fringe of the storm-cloud has dropped below the horizon. Suddenly arising, as suddenly gone—such is a tropical tornado.

As the little fleet of steamers puffed its way higher and higher up the mighty river, richer and richer grew the land. The soil was black with vegetable matter, and its fertility was extreme. Miles and miles of forest trees of great value lined the banks on either hand gum copal trees ; covered with the parasitic orchilla—containing the germs of large fortunes—were seen for hours together. The many islands in mid-stream continually assumed new shapes, but their exuberance of vegetation was an enduring feature. The land was a land of plenty. STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 165

Passing slowly up river, exploring all important tributaries for a considerable distance, undergoing the ceremony of " blood brotherhood " countless times, making treaties with the great chiefs, this mission of commerce and civilization at length arrived at the foot of the seventh and last cataract of Stanley Falls. This was the destination of the expedition—the Ultima Thule of Stanley's " state building" on the Congo. The people who inhabited the islands and the mainland west of the Falls are the Wenyas, who are great fishermen and dexterous boatmen. With these Stanley opened a "shauri" for the purchase of land on which to found a permanent settlement. After a great deal of agitation on the part of the natives, to whom the idea was entirely novel, and prolific outbursts of native oratory in many phases— fearful, cautious, prophetic, indig- nant, abusive, shrewd, philosophic, pacific, and finally friendly—Stanley bought for £160 worth of beads, knives, cloth, wire, looking-glasses, caps, brass rods, and other forms of an extensive currency, a considerable portion of a large island for founding his settlement. The station was situated just below the rapids, and possessed in a creek on the east side of the island an excellent harbor. The powerful tribe of the Bakuma dwell 1G6 HENRY M. STANLEY. in the country east of the Seventh Fall, and of them Stanley made most cordial friends. With both the Wenyas and the Bakumas he concluded treaties, insuring his people safe and permanent dwelling among them, and stipulating for a civilized method of conducting commerce, and the sovereignty or the powers of Umpire in all matters of doubt or difficulty. He then set his men to build a strong house, which was plentifully stored with provisions,

cowries, etc. tools, ammunition, cloth, beads, ; and gave the charge of the station to a Scotch- man, named Binnie, —a man of small physique, but with a lion's heart—entrusting thirty-one armed men to his command. On the 10th of December, 1883, Stanley turned his back upon the Falls, and began to descend the river. The little Scotchman was alone in the heart of

Africa ! It should be added here that he behaved splendidly, and in a very short time won the affection, as well as the respect of the neighboring tribes. Stanley's work was almost done. From point to point, along the river, he had placed stations, and obtained treaties which gave the Association sovereign rights. When the success of these stations had encouraged the natives, little diffi,- —

STANLEY A STATE BUILDER. 167 culty would be experienced in filling up the gaps. The pioneering was accomplished, the seeds of

federation sown ; and time, and time only, could combine the scattered links, and weld them into an unbroken chain, All the Congo tribes knew and honored "BulaMatari ; " and nearly all had covenanted with him to keep the peace and advance his aims. The whole region had been touched by a master's hand, and quickened into vitality. The tribes of the Congo were ready for the final step—the confederation of their units into an undivided whole, ready for agglomeration into one great state. Stanley returned to Vivi in April, 1884. He then learnt that Gordon Pasha was coming to the Congo to help on the work. The next news reversed this arrangement—Gordon was on his way to Khartoum, under orders from the British Government. Then Sir Francis de Winton arrived, and to his efficient care Stanley gladly handed over the direction of affairs. Vivi had never thriven, and in fact its last days were less promising than its first. Sir Francis de Winton began his work on the Congo by moving the station to a more suitable site, and erecting larger and better equipped buildings. Vivi—New Vivi

was in a fair way to prosperity ; a splendid sana- 168 HENRY M. STANLEY. torium had been built on the summit of a hill at Boma, under the direction of Dr. Allard, and the well-being of the invalided was for the future assured. The affairs of the Upper Congo were left to the able guidance of Captain Hanssens, and Captain Saulez was appointed chief of Leopoldville. With these able men in command, Stanley left his work on the Congo behind, and turned his face once more toward Europe. On August 3d, 1884, he arrived at Ostend, and presented his report to the King of the Belgians. THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE. 169

CHAPTER X

THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE.

The coping stone to the fabric was wanting ; the great achievements of the International Association's Expedition required European countenance for the final investment of their political rights. The Expedition had finished its work, and a settled polity was now required. The

European States were about to sit in conclave, and out of the material created by Stanley to carve a new State in Equatorial Africa.

Of all the varied material gathered for State- building, first and foremost were the treaties made by Stanley with more than 450 independent chiefs. These men had sold, in return for large sums of money, part of the lands they had owned from time immemorial. With the land they had transferred their powers as chiefs—they had, in fact, invested the new owners with the rights and privileges of a sovereign.

The conditions of these treaties were all, more

or less, alike, and may be briefly described as, on 170 HENRY M. STANLEY. the part of the chiefs, giving up their sovereign promising rights over the country ; to join their

forces to those of the Association ; to resist in- trusion or attacks from foreigners of any nation-

ality and color ; and yielding to the Association all game, mining, fishing, and forest rights, together with absolute control of all roads and waterways running through the country. The Association, on its part, paid a large sum of money down, together with monthly subsidies. It promised to take no land or property except with the consent of the owners. It undertook to promote, as far as lay in its power, the prosperity of the country, upholding justice and punishing

the transgressor. And it agreed to lend its aid and countenance to all just government and authority exercised by the chiefs over their own subjects. In addition to these direct treaties between the natives and the Association, the chiefs themselves had been confederated, and in unison they had agreed to accept the Association as supreme, requiring no tribute nor imposts from any one connected with, or protected by, the

Association ; and they had further covenanted to hoist the flag of the Association—blue, with a golden star—above their respective villages, as a sign of its supreme power. THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE. 171

With such thorough preliminary work as this, it was not difficult to bring matters to a successful conclusion. The idea of holding an European Conference on the subject of the Congo and its Free Stations originated with Prince Bismarck's proposal to the French Ambassador at Berlin. On November 15th, 1884, this Conference held its first sitting at Berlin. Its International character may be gathered from the fact that among the nations represented were Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Portugal, Italy, Holland, and Russia. The chief objects of the Conference may be divided under three heads : —The free navigation of the Congo. With this was coupled free trade. All nations and people were to be able to engage in commerce without being liable to any duties or imposts. Certain taxes, however, which would be required for the support of the actual government, might be levied. The next question to be settled was the free navigation of the Niger. And the third was to define the procedure for all valid annexation of land or property, in bulk and by nations, in Africa. This, of course, referred to the future. On the 18th of December the proposals as to the 172 HENRY M. STANLEY. free navigation of the Congo and Niger were finally approved. Italy was anxious that the liquor traffic which, unfortunately, is very considerable, should be prohibited. She was unsuc- cessful in her good intentions, but the Confer- ence adopted certain precautions in the case of the " abuse " of the liquor traffic. On the 7th of January, 1885, the Conference

agreed to the slavery clauses ; that is to say, all powers holding territory on or near the Congo basin were to prevent the sale of the natives, forbid the waters of the Congo or its tributaries,

or the land adjacent, to the slaver ; and to do all in their power to put an end to the trade and punish those engaged in it. By the 5th of February the difficulty between France and the International Association was removed. The southern limit of French territory was defined as being from the Chiloango Eiver to near Manyanga then along the north- ; ern banks of the Congo as far as the confluence of the Mobangi with the Congo—about 17° E. longitude. The flag of the Association was to be considered that of a friendly state. At that time the course of the Mobangi was not known, and its subsequent discovery has given rise to some tension between France and the Congo Free THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE. 173

State, which, happily, is in a fair way of being removed.

Ten days later, the other great question, that of the frontier-line between the territories of the Association and Portugal, was amicably settled. The latter was to own the south bank of the Lower Congo nearly as far as Vivi, and then,

roughly, was limited by the parallel of 6° S. latitude to the Eiver Kuango or Coango. Portu- gal, also, received a portion of the coast between French territory and the mouth of the Congo, wedged into the region claimed by the Associa- tion. Thus, the International Association was granted, by an European Conference, a well- defined status and limit. It gained a coast-line about twenty-two miles in length—amply sufficient for all trading purposes—and a vast do- main in the interior. It extends to Lake Bang- weolo, in the S. E., to Lake Tanganika, in the E. It follows the Rusizi River to 30° E. longitude, thence to the watershed between the Nile and the Congo. Its northern limit, from E. to W., runs from that point to 17° E. long., and down that meridian, or along the banks of the

Mobangi, till it joins the French territory on the banks of the Congo. Thus it almost touches, on 174 HENRY M. STANLEY. its northeast corner, on the province of Emin Pasha, and includes nearly the whole of the great lake, Muta Nzige, from which Stanley had been forced to retreat when about to embark on its navigation many years before. On the 26th of February the final sitting of the Conference was held, and the Congo Free State became an actuality. Throughout the proceed- ings Stanley had lent his great experience and sage advice to the formation of its opinion, and the guidance of its action, and this was publicly recognized, upon several occasions, by the representatives of the Governments there assembled. He was feted at banquets given in his honor, and received with enthusiasm in various cities where he lectured. Bismarck paid him special attention, inviting him to dinners, and showing, as far as he could, his esteem for the great services Stanley had performed. This was, no doubt, an hour of triumph for our old friend " Bula Matari," but long before he had found his reward, if, indeed, he had coveted any, in the feeling that he had consistently striven his utmost to do his duty. The West African territory of France, as defined by the Berlin Conference, has an area of about 250,000 sq. miles. Portugal has about

100,000 sq. miles more, and a coast-line of about THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE. 175

1000 miles. It also possesses about 100 miles of bank on the Lower Congo. The International Association greatly exceeds both these countries in its territorial possessions, although in its desire to possess the Lower Congo, it yielded some hundred thousand square miles of interior to France and Portugal. There is secured to Free Trade, by the Berlin Conference, a>bout a million and a-half square miles of country. The future of this immense region, now welded into a State, none can rightly predict. Its height of prosperity and acme of power, its ripened civilization, and its influence on the world lie in the unknown future, and none can gauge the extent of trade and wealth of resources which a generation or so may bring forth. Africa is being rapidly colonized, and still more rapidly explored. The Dark Continent has become a Twilight one. A generation hence it will be all surveyed, and few parts of it will not be colonized, or, at least, absolutely controlled by the wiser and more efficacious government of the white man. When the day comes, on which it may be said, with truth, that the Congo Free State is the most important and wealthy power in Africa, the name of Henry M. Stanley, " Bula Matari," will not, we may be sure, be forgotten. Among 176 HENRY M. STANLEY. the pioneers of dark lands he will take a fore-

most place ; but his name will not be missing in the roll of those who have out of the abstract created the concrete, out of diversity produced unity, out of wild and fiercely-independent savages reared a state at once beneficial and enduring.

And it must not be forgotten that the enterprise received birth and constant nurture from the broad-minded and philanthropic King of the

Belgians, Leopold II. Stanley has never ceased to attribute to that monarch the first meed of

praise ; and it would be foreign to the spirit in which this book is written if, in awarding to Stanley the palm for heroic labors under the torrid sun, we did not give to the enlightened monarch who inaugurated and consistently sup- ported the entire work of the Association, unstinted praise for his genius of philanthropy and its well-deserved success.

In conclusion, it may be added that the King of the Belgians, who had been President of the International Association, was shortly afterwards elected Sovereign of the Free State. Leopold marked his appreciation of the honor by presenting the munificent sum of £50,000 to the funds of the State, in order to facilitate the creation THE FOUNDING OF THE FREE STATE. 177 of the necessary administrative authority. The headquarters of this authority, including the offices of the Ministers of foreign and domestic affairs and finance, is situated at Brussels. The representatives upon the Congo of this responsible ministry are the Administrator-General, and his assistant Divisional Administrators. Among other officers on the Congo, are a Chief Justice, Chief of Police, and a Postmaster-General. A complete service of steamers plies up and down the Upper Congo, as regularly as on the Lower, and, in short, all the paraphernalia of a young and vigorous State are now to be found between the mouth of the great river and Stanley Falls. 12 178 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTEE XI.

COMPARATIVE REST.

In the comparative lull which followed the tur- moil of labor, and strain of anxiety, endured by Stanley on the Congo, he was able to go about Europe and America, see his old friends, and make new friends of the great ones of the world.

This lull, therefore, supplies an opportunity to look back upon the past, and observe some facts intimately connected with the explorer's life, but which from limit of space have been neglected till now. Though Stanley has been the recipient of many honors, which as years rolled on came upon him with increasing thickness, it must not be forgotten that he has had that hour of trial which falls to the lot of most great men. No sooner had he scored his first great success, and found Living- stone, than many people began to throw doubts upon his veracity, and openly accuse him of per- verting facts to gain notoriety for the newspaper he represented. His expedition, as soon as its COMPARATIVE REST. 179

existence became known, was referred to in a

slighting manner, as if it were but a mild and ephemeral attempt at self-advertisement on the part of Bennett. And when he had succeeded, distinguished travelers, and men of high position and intellectual attainments did not hesitate to dispute his geographical discoveries, or express their opinion that he had never even seen Living-

stone ! Time rolled on, and, with its accumula- tion of indisputable evidence, the unjust suspicions and accusations were vanquished. Then the English geographers and men of travel, with that

honest candor which is so characteristic of John Bull—and his island, unhesitatingly made the amende honorable, and welcomed Stanley with

the greater honor because it had been somewhat delayed. Notwithstanding the fact that he had silenced his too captious critics upon a former occasion, as soon as Stanley's exploits in the heart of Africa in his second—the Telegraph Herald—expedition were known, there were found men of weight in the geographical world to assail his method of dealing with the natives. In fact, the poison had entered within the charmed circle of the Council

of the Royal Geographical Society itself, and for

a time it seemed as if that august body, repre- 180 HENRY M. STANLEY.

sentative of all that is best and most admirable in the exploration of the world, would withhold its welcome to the traveler on his return from Africa. Better counsels, however, prevailed ; and when the accused was allowed to speak in his own defense, he gave what proved, to the majority of his listeners, ample reason for his behavior under very trying circumstances. His retaliation on those who would have murdered him, had he shown any ill-timed leniency, was perfectly justifiable. He invariably went out of his way to avoid hostilities, but when his own safety, the safety of his whole expedition, and the successful performance of his arduous mission, were each and all threatened with complete destruction, by savage and cannibal negroes, Stan- ley was not the man—and England, at any rate, should not be the nation—to say " Forbear." Under the circumstances, forbearance meant annihilation for the party of peace, the heralds of civilization. In considering the difficulties which beset Stan- ley, and his persistent triumphs over them, it should always be remembered that he was the

first white man to penetrate Africa with a large armed force. Then, the marvelously short time in which he—with a numerous following—accom- COMPARATIVE REST. 181 plished his journeys, must be taken into account. In about four years he journeyed some 10,000 miles through a savage and hostile country, and managed to obtain priceless knowledge of the resources and possibilities of the land through which he passed. Without actually comparing the two, it may be said that had that African hero, David Living- stone, in whose honor too much cannot be written, treated his rascally porters, who deserted him by scores time and again, with something of the severity of Stanley, he would in all probability have solved the problem of his beloved Lualaba, and found the crown to his self-sacrificing labors in the discover}^ of its identity with the Congo. Of the thirty odd years spent by that most patient and courageous of men under the fervor of the African sun, nearly ten were wasted by the unscrupulous conduct of the natives he was compelled to employ. Twice, when on the threshold of discovery, had he to turn reluctantly back from the realization 6f his hopes, in order to humor the cowardly hounds on whom his gentleness and forbearance had been wasted in vain. What that

great man suffered, none will ever entirely know ; but we are forced to conclude, from his own writ- ings and those of his friends, that had he turned —

182 HENRY M. STANLEY. to wholesome discipline when mild remonstrance proved of no avail, he would have been saved thousands of miles of weary retreat, thousands of days of unrewarded labor, and the bitterness of dying with his years of search unsatis- fied by the solution for which they had been spent. Among the many honors which have fallen to Stanley's share may be mentioned the Gold Medal of the Eoyal Geographical Society, and the Geographical Societies of Paris, Italy, aud Mar-

seilles ; the Honorary Membership of nearly all the chief Geographical Societies and Chambers of

Commerce throughout the world ; the Grand Commandership of the Order of the Medjidie,

with the Star and Collar ; an unanimous vote of thanks from the United States Congress ; and the freedom of the City of London. In addition to these honors, the Queen presented Stanley with a valuable memento in recognition of his rescue late Victor Emanuel gave of Livingstone ; the him a gold medal and wrote an autograph letter to him, commenting on his great services to

civilization ; and the present King of Italy presented his portrait to the great explorer. Below the portrait the following had been written by the royal hand : COMPARATIVE REST. 183

"All' intrepido viaggiatore Enrico Stanley, Umberto Ke."

As year after year and success after success stamped Stanley's character in a clear and un- mistakable manner upon the susceptible surface of the public mind, the jealousies and accusations of the few sank in the turgid pool they had raised, to rise no more. In the year he spent in England, after his return from the Congo, no man's words or actions or views were regarded with more interest and appreciation than were Stanley's. He stood out in bold relief against the shadowy background of the Dark Continent, as the herald of light and civilization, the Columbus of Central Afrfca. And when he had gone to America to fulfil a long-promised, and often deferred, lecturing tour, a tour, be it remembered, which would have been highly remunerative as well as pleasant—England could find no man but Stanley to serve her turn when the silence which had settled over the Equatorial Province of Em in Pasha cried loudly for relief. "Without a moment's hesitation, he returned to London and placed his services at the disposal of the Committee of the Emin Belief Expedition. 184 HENRY M. STANLEY.

It is now time to describe the state of things brought about in the Soudan by the fall of Khartoum and the death of that Soldier-Saint,

Charles George Gordon ; and how it came to pass that Englishmen should conceive it their duty to relieve his faithful servant, Emin Pasha. When in the spring of 1878 Gordon returned for the second time to Khartoum—this time as Governor-General of the whole of the Egyptian Soudan, he appointed Dr. Schnitzer, a Prussian —who to enhance his usefulness among the Mohammedan races, and suppress his European extraction as much as possible, had adopted the Arabic name of "Emin"—as Governor of the Equatorial Province, which Gordon himself had ruled in 1876 and 1877. At that period Emin had served under Gordon, first as chief medical officer, and afterwards as his most trusted co- adjutor in the general conduct of affairs. The province of which Emin was now appointed governor extends from the borders of Uganda and Unyoro, and the Lake Albert N'yanza on the south, to a region about 150 miles north of Gon dokoro on the Nile, and nearly 1000 miles distant

from Khartoum. Though its government had always been a thorn in the side of the Khedivial dynasty, the fertility and natural resources of COMPARATIVE REST. 1$5 the country were beyond dispute. But the miserable weakness and peculation of the Egyptian governors had fostered a system of oppression without which it would seem the Oriental magnate cannot exist ; and they had actually farmed cut huge districts to notorious slave-traders. During his short tenure of office, Gordon had done much, and though unable to place the province upon an independent financial basis, he had stemmed the flood of slave-caravans which swept over the country, and brought the region into something like security and order. No sooner had he retired, however, than the worthless officials appointed in his stead revived the old system of plunder and peculation, in justice and indolence, and last, though not least, the baffled though not broken trade in slaves. With the return of Gordon to Khartoum, as Governor-General of the Soudan, affairs once more took a favorable turn ; and in appointing Emin Pasha to the governorship of the Equatorial Province, he proved his ability to detect the qualities of a great man, and his willingness to find him suitable occupation.

On taking charge, Emin found much to dis- hearten him. The slave-traders had emerged from the obscurity into which Gordon by active measures had compelled them to retire, and 186 HENRY M. STANLEY. settled themselves in fortified villages all over the province. The men who were his subordinates, and the soldiers on whom he had to rely, proved to be "hand in glove" with the slave-traders. The various stations erected under Gordon's active rule had been allowed to collapse by his indolent successors. The people had been crushed by oppressive fines, whole villages destroyed by marauding banditti, and the government of the province was almost hopelessly in debt. With the determination of a master-mind, of a leader of men, Emin set himself to produce order out of chaos. Within the space of a year he had rebuilt the dilapidated stations, removed all ud just taxation, and made his people look up to him with respect and loyalty. Within three years, by dint of energy which knew no tiring, he had induced his subjects to cultivate their land with steady industry, and transformed a set of miserable, hunted, and oppressed tribes into an agricultural and thriving population. He had built permanent roads, and established a weekly post throughout the province. He had added largely to his territory by just and honorable means. Moreover he had converted a province which had never been anything but a drain upon the Egyptian treasury into one which was COMPARATIVE REST. 187 self-supporting. He had converted a yearly deficit of £30,000 into a balance of £8,000 ! And, finally, he had swept the slave-dealers from the face of the country. The enormity of the African slave-trade can never be insisted upon too much. The Arabs, " who make it their business to deal in this " ebony trade, while ostensibly seeking for ivory, are a heartless and infamous set of scoundrels. Whether they are pure Muscat Arabs or have a proportion of negro blood in their veins, their conduct is such as to justify the African proverb, "God made the whites, and God made the blacks ; but the devil made the Arabs." By a merciless system of slaughter, they are draining the life- blood of Central Africa. Without able-bodied natives, without beaten tracks and frequent vih lages, without waving fields of grain, and shady groves of bananas, the white man will be power- less to advance in Africa. If the Arabs are allowed to depopulate the interior at the enormous rate they are now proceeding, the day will come when the steps of civilization will be halted at the margin of a vast wilderness. There will be none to cultivate the fertile fields—there will be no fields to cultivate. This slavery question is

not confined to the negro ; it involves loss or 188 HENRY M. STANLEY. gain to the civilized world. If Europe refuses to

acknowledge the dictates of humanity, it should at least observe the counsels of self-interest. The riches of Central Africa—inexhaustible as they may be—cannot be garnered without the aid of the son of the soil ; and if the wholesale slaughter which is carried on by the Arab slave- dealers be not speedily checked, that unfortunate individual—so much more sinned against than sinning—will have taken his place among the interesting, but no longer existing realities of the past. The enormous cruelty of the slave-dealers is exhibited in the following instance, cited by the author of " The Arab in Central Africa." In that work he speaks of an Arab caravan which, throughout the space of eleven months, ravaged a country about 30,000 square miles in extent. At the end of this time, about 2,300 captives were obtained. In capturing these no less than 118 villages were destroyed, and about 4,000 people

killed. This particular caravan was the fifth of

its kind to scour the same country, and therefore

it was computed that altogether about 30,000 lives had been sacrificed in the attempt to obtain a very much smaller number of slaves. Cardinal Lavigerie has declared that not less than 400,000 COMPARATIVE REST. 189 slaves are annually brought into the market, and that as many as 2,000,000 of lives must have been sacrificed in capturing and bringing this number to the coast ! It will be remembered how Stan- ley was struck by the extreme fertility and numerous villages of Manyema, as he struck across country from the Tanganika to Nyangwe. To- day, nearly the whole of the country is a depopu- lated and devastated desert. The Tanganika itself is a very high-road of caravans. Professor Drummond has narrated how the crafty Arab will sometimes settle for a year or so in some favorable spot, and accumulate enormous quantities of ivory, until all his money is gone. Then, on some slight pretext, he will simulate a right- eous indignation, which, of course, ends in a quarrel, and the quarrel in war. As the Arab has a large number of well-armed followers, the result is a foregone certainty. A massacre of the natives ensues, the villages are burnt, and those who are likely to be most saleable on the coast are utilized to carry the loads of ivory, which have been so patiently and artfully acquired. Such are the scoundrels and such their ways that Emin manfully banished from his province. No sooner, however, had he placed his house in 190 HENRY M. STANLEY. order, than the cloud, which had been looming in the north, burst with disastrous effect. The Mahdi revolt swept along the country from Bahr-el-Ghazel to Khartoum, and completely shut off Emin from communicating with Gordon. Fortunately, the province had been made self- sustaining, or Emin would have been speedily forced to resign. This his colleague, Lupton Bey, the Governor of the Ghazel, was compelled to do. Though frequently summoned to surrender to the Mahdi, Emin maintained his ground and fortified his more tenable positions, making Wa- delai his headquarters. In spite of all difficulties, and constant attacks, he has held his own to the present time. In 1886, there came from Dr. Junker, the well- known traveler, then in Uganda, letters and newspapers for the beleaguered Pasha, the first he had received for three years, and a despatch from the Egyptian Government. This despatch was to the effect that, as the Soudan had been abandoned, Emin might quit the country directly, how and whither he pleased. Such was the

official reward reserved for a faithful servant, such the views of the Egyptian Government. It need hardly be added that Emin's ideas of duty failed to coincide with those of the Khedive. COMPARATIVE REST. 191

Moreover, the only road of retreat, that to Zan- zibar, was closed. He determined to continue among his people, who loved and served him with unflinching loyalty, to stick to his post, do his duty, and wait for better days. The mental strain of enforced solitude has proved too much for many an able man. But Emin apparently was not affected in this way, although he was practically left alone in his Soudanese Province after 1878. And from 1881 he was completely cut off from regular communication with the outside world. Such a privation, as lack of intercourse with civilization would be to a man of Emm's keen

intellect and warm sympathy, was undoubtedly lessened by his enthusiastic love of nature in her manifold branches. Dr. Hartlaub has written of this side of the man, in eloquent terms. " The amount of work," he said, "which Emin Pasha has performed in making zoological collections, obser- vations, and notes, is astonishing in the highest degree. It could only have been performed by a man whose heart was aglow with the pure fire of scientific instinct, with enthusiastic, absolutely unselfish, love of nature, and with an irresistible impulse to add to the knowledge of her treasures, 192 HENRY M. STANLEY. to the full extent of his powers. Em in was able to turn this impulse into action, notwithstanding the pressure of difficulties surrounding circumstances, and the many and varied duties which his high position compelled him to fulfil." This exceptional man did not, however, allow his scientific enthusiasm to wean him from his first duty to his people. As is the case with all well-balanced minds, Emin made science sub- serve the higher pursuit of philanthropy. Lend- ing his extensive knowledge to the use, as it were, of his people, he began a series of more or less successful experiments with a view to bringing out the full capacity of the country. He clearly proved the adaptability of the soil to various agricultural methods, and organized his province in such a manner as to facilitate, should the opportunity arise, the successful issue of commer cial enterprise. It was to bring relief to such a man as this, that Stanley returned from America, and, under the direction of the Emin Relief Committee, prepared an expedition to reach this faithful devotee to duty by way of the Congo. The difficulties before him were great enough to check the eager- as ness of the most experienced traveler ; but, we have seen again and again, an obstacle only COMPARATIVE REST. 193 exists for Stanley to be overcome. The route from Stanley Falls to Wadelai was unknown country, reputed to be inhabited by fierce cannibals, and rendered by its physical character still more difficult to penetrate. Even supposing his safe arrival at Wadelai, there would arise the question of return. A large, armed force, such as Stanley would be obliged to take, would require an enormous amount of food, and, if the natives proved hostile, this would have to be ex- acted by force of arms, precluding the possibility of returning by the same route. For, on this first journey, tribes of savages might be met and con- quered separately, whereas on the return inarch the entire population of the country would meet the naturally weakened force with an organized front.

These and numerous other difficulties existed, and Stanley frankly admitted the fact. How he successfully combated each as they arose, and pushed his way through vast unexplored regions to the faithful Emin, is a story of thrilling expectation which must now be told. 13 ,

194 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER XII.

THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA.

Without money—and a good deal of it too— the Emin Eelief Expedition could not be sent a foot on its way. The " sinews of war "were supplied by a Government grant of £10,000 from the Egyptian Treasury, and by another sum of about £10,000 which was raised by a number of private individuals—chief among whom were Mr. now Sir William, Mackinnon, Chairman of the British India Steamship Co., and President of

the Imperial British East Africa Company ; and Colonel Sir Francis W. de Winton, K.C.M.G., at one time in charge of the Congo Free State, and more recently connected with African geography and development in general. The Royal Geographical Society subscribed a further sum of

£1,000 on the understanding that it received first- hand geographical information. On all sides the greatest interest was evinced, and Stanley became —not for the first time— "the man of the hour." "

THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 195

King Leopold, as Sovereign of the Congo Free State, placed at the disposal of the Eelief Com- mittee the entire naval stock of the Free State for the transport of men and material to Stanley Falls. The appointments on Stanley's Staff were sought by nearly 500 applicants ! The popularity of the expedition was remarkable, and all eyes centered on Stanley and his movements. On the 13th of January, 1S87, a few days before his departure from England, Stanley was presented with the freedom of the City of Lon- don, enclosed in a casket of ivory and gold. His speech upon that occasion plainly revealed the arduousness of the undertaking. Referring to Emin as " the last white captain of the Soudan, he spoke of him as being environed by breadths of unknown territory, inhabited by savage races. These races had proved hostile to Emin's retreat, and would be equally hostile to the advancing reliever. He also emphasized the fact that the Relief Expedition contemplated no annexations, would not unduly arouse native hostility, nor trench on German susceptibilities by disturbing their protectorate. Curiously enough—in the light of his subsequent plans—he declared that the return route least open to danger was that

from Wadelai to the Congo, and not ? as many 196 HENRY M. STANLEY. would have it, that from the Albert N'yanza to Zanzibar.

On the 21st of January, 1887, Stanley left Charing Cross for Cairo. " Had he been a king," wrote an eye-witness, " we could not have wished for a more striking testimony of the esteem in which he is held here, and of his widespread popularity, than the ovation which was made him." In February, Stanley arrived at Zanzibar, where he recruited largely among his former followers —the Wangwana. He also performed a good stroke of diplomacy by engaging the great Tippu Tib, whom he found there. The engagement of the renowned Arab Chief was to guarantee the expedition immunity from hostile tribes and the intrigues of Arab slave-dealers, who, though beyond the influence of the Free State, were amenable to the wishes or commands of the richest Arab in Equatorial Africa. Tippu Tib was to be governor of Stanley Falls Station, with powers to defend that place against all comers. This step of Stanley's was regarded by many with something more than suspicion, but yet he had reason to know his man. On the 24th of February, he and Tippu Tib concluded a treaty together, the former acting on behalf of the King of the Belgians, the sovereign of the Independent THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 197

State of the Congo, and the latter speaking for himself and his undoubted influence. Two articles of this treaty may be quoted here.

(1) " Tippu Tib binds himself to hoist the flag of the Congo State on the station near the Stan- ley Falls, and to make respected the authority of

the State on the river Congo and all its tributaries, as well at his station as down the river, as far as to the river Aruwimi. He undertakes to prevent the Arabs and the tribes there established from carrying on the slave-trade."

(2) " The present arrangement will be valid only so long as Tippu Tib or his ad interim substitute (provided for in another clause) shall

fulfil the conditions here enumerated." Sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, the expedition reached Banana Point on the 18th of March. The whole force was reembarked in steamers provided by the Free State, and on the following day proceeded up the Congo. At Matadi the cataracts compelled the party to take to the banks, along which they marched to

Leopoldville. Between these points lies the route of the projected railway, which will at once render the Upper Congo and its superior climate easily attainable by those who have neither constitution nor temperament to withstand the un- 198 HENRY M. STANLEY. healthy climate of the coast-belt or the rigors of a march through the Congo Canon. Leaving Leopoldville, on the 29th of April, in four steamers and three steel lighters, Stanley arrived off the Aruwimi in the month of June. It should interest the reader who has followed the fortunes of " Bula Matari " through this book, to know that the garrison of Leopoldville was composed of Bangalas—those fierce savages who had fought Stanley with relentless fury on his first descent of the Congo, and whom he had subsequently found so powerful and prone to war. What a contrast—this of 1887—to that of ten

years before ! At the head of the navigation of the Aruwimi —just below the first rapids—Stanley built the intrenched and palisaded camp of Yambuya. Here he left a large reserve of supplies and about 250 men, under the command of Major Barttelot, the senior officer of his staff and a brave and energetic soldier. On the 28th of June, 1887, Stanley set out on his march to Kavalli, with a force of about 400 men. For a few days news of him came back to the camp on the Aruwimi, and then silence—a deathlike silence reigned. Month after month rolled by, but no voice came out of the stillness to speak of his progress or THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 199 safety. As time went on, and the suspense became more acute, expectation gave way to disappointment and disappointment to misgiving and doubt. Now and again rumors came through native channels—rumors of famine and disease, fighting, defeat, capture—rumors even of death. They came to the East coast and the West, and thence were sent to Europe. They filtrated through the Soudan and reached us in Egypt. The Khalifa and his fanatical lieutenants seized upon them and converted them into reports of Mahdist triumphs. Emin was defeated, and he and Stanley captured! The clouds thickened, and the continuing silence deepened the gloom which hung over the Equatorial Province. Out of the silence of the vast Soudan a message at length came. In a letter to Tippu Tib, Stan- ley himself announced, from the camp of Bunalya or Murenia, his safety and his success. He had met Emin on the Albert N'yanza, and found him well and prosperous. He had come down to the neighborhood of the Congo for his stores and rear-column, and, though terribly disappointed at the tidings he had received, was about to return to Emin. He had traversed the return journey in 82 days, and the road, now known, had ceased

to be difficult. He asked Tippu Tib to accom- —

200 HENRY M. STANLEY. pany him, but this the Arab chief refused to do as he had previously refused to accompany Jame- son, who offered him, it is said, an enormous sum as an inducement. Stanley mentioned that both Emin and Casati, the Italian traveler, were well, and consequently refuted the report that the latter had been murdered by natives. He also said that he had left his white companions with Emin, which disposed of Osman Digna's announce- ment of the capture of only two white men Emin and the White Pasha. Subsequent events proved that there was half a truth in this report, for from August, 1888, to January, 1889, Emin and Mr. Jephson, one of Stanley's officers, were prisoners in the hands of the Egyptian soldiery of the Equatorial Province. Mr. Jephson, in fact, was the White Pasha. On the 3d of April, 1889, the long-expected and long-delayed letters from Stanley arrived, and were published in the papers. They had been written at the end of August and in the beginning of September, 1888, and had taken five months to reach the mouth of the Congo. They revealed a story of great distress, much disease and death, fearful difficulties, final triumph. Written in the well-known forcible style of the great explorer, they informed an expectant world of the well* THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 201 being of the beleaguered Emin, and of the geography of a region before unknown. Written with the graphic pen of one who has encountered the difficulties he describes, who has himself achieved the success he relates, these letters of

Stanley's will forever remain remarkable in history as the record of an unparalleled combination of pluck and perseverance in the heart of a savage and inhospitable continent. But we must give the wonderful story of adventure and discovery in its chronological sequence, and show how Stanley had reached Emin on the Albert N'yanza, and why he should have appeared again—almost on the very banks of the Congo—without the rescued Pasha. On leaving his rear-guard intrenched at Yam- buya, on the 28th of June, 1887, Stanley, with the main body of the expedition, followed the bank of the Aruwimi, and very soon made acquaintance with that native hostility which was to dog his steps almost to the very end. For, at their approach to the first town of importance, the natives, warned by the loud beating of their watchman's drum, set fire to their frail huts, and withdrew into ambush in the forest, there to await the passing of the advancing strangers. Now the approach to these towns in the river 202 HENRY M. STANLEY. valley was in itself a glaring example of the sub- tleties of savage warfare, for the path was honey- combed with shallow pits, which were filled with splinters, so sharply pointed as practically to be skewers, and hidden from the sight of all but the most experienced by a light layer of leaves and branches. To add to the deception, these ap- proaches were cleared by the forest people for some hundred yards or so, and formed—what is so unusual in Central Africa— a wide and direct avenue to the village. The real approach would be narrow and tortuous, making a wide detour, and the apparently direct path all the more allur- ing. And then, with a fine sense of strategic warfare, the natives would hail their poisoned arrows and spears upon the expedition at the very moment when the discovery of the hidden

pits had thrown it into confusion and panic. One can readily imagine the effect of such an experience upon the barefooted and half-clothed Wang- wana from Zanzibar, and appreciate more fully the command Stanley must have acquired over his men to have rallied them time after time, and induced them to present an orderly front to their hidden assailants in the dense jungle on either hand. From the 5th of July to the middle of October THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 203 the expedition kept by the bank of the Aruwimi. The river presented a noble aspect, varying in width from 500 to 900 yards, and dotted over with islets frequently covered with a dense tropical growth. On some of these islands, however, there appeared products of other than the vegetable world, for Stanley has recorded his amaze- ment at the enormous number of oyster shells which he found piled on them. " On one island,-' he wrote, "I measured a heap thirty paces long, twelve feet wide at the base, and four feet high." Despite the number of men who had been wounded by the peculiar mode of defense adopted by the natives, as well as by their actual attacks, the expedition marched on without actual loss till August 1st. On that day, however, the first death occurred, and in the next nine days' march through a wilderness where food was unobtain- able, several members of Stanley's force succumbed to their injuries, and matters began to have a serious aspect. On August 13th, on arriving at Avi-sheba, five men were killed by poisoned arrows, and Lieutenant Stairs was badly wounded. Two days later, a number of men under the command of Mr. Mounteney Jephson, lost their way, and until the forces were united, six days later, 204 HENRY M. STANLEY. the liveliest apprehensions were entertained of their annihilation by the utterly savage natives. On August 25th, Stanley pitched his camp exactly opposite the spot where the Nepoko, here almost as wide as the Aruwimi, plunges down in a fine cataract into the latter river, and six days later he fell in with a party of slaves, belonging to one Ugarrowwa, who turned out to have been a tent-boy in the service of Captain Speke. It will be remembered that Speke, in company with Burton, had discovered Lake Tanganika, and afterwards, with Grant, reached the shores of the Victoria N'yanza, and beheld the White Nile flowing out of its northern extremity. Stanley put down this chance meeting with the Arab slave-dealers' party as the beginning of his greater misfortunes. He had taken the Congo route to Emin's province in preference to those which lay through Masai-land, through Unyam- wezi, or through Usukuma, in order to avoid the demoralizing influence of the Arabs and their huge caravans of ruffianly soldier-slaves. That his dread of such influence was not ungrounded was proved by the simple fact that, within three days of this meeting with Ugarrowwa's men, no fewer than twenty- six of his own followers had deserted. And, since misfortunes do not come —

THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 205 singly, his men proved to be so broken with the labor of cutting through the interminable forest, and so reduced in strength by prolonged hunger, that he was compelled—much against his will to leave fifty-six Somalis and Soudanese in the care of Ugarrowwa. With much reduced numbers, therefore, he pushed on again through the forest, whose gloom was never broken by the rays of the sun, and in whose reeking depths lurked not only the ghostly demons of fever and malaria, but also the incarnate fiends who dogged their steps with a malice and persistent hostility which are almost incredible. For a hundred and sixty days—from the end of June to the middle of November—Stanley and his followers hacked and hewed their way through this deadly forest jungle. "Take," wrote that wonderful man to his friend, Mr. Bruce, "take a thick Scottish copse, dripping with rain ; imagine this copse to be a mere undergrowth, nourished under the impenetrable shade of ancient

trees, ranging from 100 to 180 feet high ; briars and thorns abundant ; lazy creeks meandering through the depths of the jungle, and sometimes a deep affluent of a great river. Imagine this forest and jungle in all stages of decay and growth—old trees falling, leaning perilously ;

206 HENRY M. STANLEY.

over, fallen prostrate ; ants and insects of all

kinds, sizes, and colors murmuring around ; monkeys and chimpanzees above ; queer noises of birds

and animals ; crashes in the jungle as troops

of elephants rush away ; dwarfs with poisoned arrows, securely hidden behind some buttress, or

in some dark recess ; strong brown-bodied aborigines with terribly sharp spears, standing poised,

still as dead stumps ; rain pattering down on

you every other day in the year ; an impure atmosphere, with its dread consequences, fever and dysentery gloom ; throughout the day, and darkness almost palpable throughout the night and then, if you will imagine such a forest extending the entire distance from Plymouth to Peterhead, you will have a fair idea of some of the inconveniences endured by us." The last month spent in forcing their way through the forest was a memorable one. The Arabs had devastated the region through which

the expedition was now passing ; and of inhabitants, and, consequently, of food, there was no trace. In their feeble condition this was even worse than active hostility. Between their leaving Ugarrowwa's and entering the settlement of Kilinga Longa (a Zanzibari slave-agent of an Arab trader), no fewer than fifty-five men either —

THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 207 died of starvation or deserted. The fungi, the wild fruits—especially a large bean-shaped nut formed the staple of food—food that had to be sought and found and gathered in great quantity before it could satisfy the pangs of the famished people. And when Kilinga Longa's was reached, even Stanley's influence was unable to prevent his followers selling their clothes, their ammunition, or the very weapons which constituted their sole defense in this hostile land, for the poorest food. When the expedition left this settlement behind, it was almost in a state of beggary, and its native members were absolutely in a state of nudity. At Kilinga Longa's, Stanley left Captain Nelson, one of his officers, in the charge of the able surgeon of the expedition, Dr. Parke. Nel-

son was too ill to march, and rest was imperative. To the care of these gentlemen about seventy loads of goods were entrusted, —the men being unable to carry them any further—together with the large boat, which was being carried in sections, and was destined for use on the Albert N'yanza. Thirty-eight natives, completely worn out, were also left in the charge of Nelson and Parke. Of this number, only eleven rejoined

the expedition, the rest having died or deserted ; —

208 HENRY M. STANLEY. and of the fifty-six who were left at Ugarrowwa's,

all died but sixteen ! At length, twelve days after leaving Kilinga Longa's, Stanley reached the district of Ibwiri, and at the same time the eastern limit of the great forest. The joy with which the whole expedition hailed the open grassy country which lay before them was unbounded. The forest which, according to Stanley, covers an area of at least a quarter of a million square miles, or, in other words, five times the area of England—had oppressed them with its gloom, had fostered the fever and ague, the dysentery and other ills from which they had suffered so greatly, and had sheltered the relentless savages who dogged their every step. Now at Ibwiri their sufferings termi- nated for a time. " Ourselves and men," wrote Stanley to Sir William Mackinnon, "were skeletons. Out of 389 we now only numbered 174, several of whom seemed to have no hope of life left. . . . The suffering had been so awful, calamities so numerous, the forest so endless apparently, that they refused to believe that by and by we should see plains and cattle, and the N'yanza, and the white man, Emin Pasha. They turned a deaf ear to our prayers and entreaties, for, driven by hunger THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 209 and suffering, they sold their rifles and equip- ments for a few ears of Indian corn, deserted with the ammunition, and were altogether de-

moralized. . . .We halted thirteen days in Ibwiri, and reveled on fowls, goats, bananas, corn, sweet

potatoes, yams, beans, etc. . . . There were

still 126 miles from the lake ; but, given food,

such a distance seemed nothing. . . . After 160 days' continuous gloom we saw the light of broad day shining all around us, and making all things beautiful. We thought we had never seen grass so green or country so lovely. The men literally 3^elled and leaped with joy, and raced over the ground with their burdens. Ah ! this was the old spirit of former expeditions, successfully com- " pleted, all of a sudden revived ! On December 9th, Stanley entered the country of a chief called Mazamboni. This district was so thickly populated, and village followed so quickly on village, that the road lay right through an almost unbroken street. Mazamboni viewed the approaching force with disapproval, and finally declared that it must be driven from the land. Over the hills that arose on either hand the people came rushing to the sound of the war-drums and horns yells of defiance rang ; from hill-top to hilltop across the valleys; ancl 210 HENRY M. STANLEY. down the gentler slopes hundreds and hundreds of naked savages descended on the little band that was fighting its way to the lake. Throw- ing out a wing right and left, and pressing forward with his main body, Stanley drove these wild hosts back over the hills they had crossed so blithely in the morning—in the evening, doubtless, sadder, wiser men. But all fighting was not over, for the next day they were attacked four distinct times, and on the next the fighting was incessant. For three days these Baregga poured down from the hills on the rear and flank of the column, and for three days, unable to come to terms, "we simply pressed on," wrote Stanley, "and fronted them on each occasion with smoking Eemingtons, until the waste tract along the N'yanza gave us a breathing spell."

At one P. m., on the 13th of December, 1887, after a brief camp for rest and refreshment, the expedition moved on in its eastward march.

And now let Stanley tell his own tale. "Fifteen minutes later, I cried out, 'Prepare yourselves for a sight of the N'yanza.' " The men murmured and doubted, and said,

" ' "Why does the master continually talk to us in this way ? N'yanza, indeed ! Is not this a '

THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 211

plain, and can we not see mountains at least four days' march ahead of us ? " At 1.30 p. m. the Albert N'yanza was below

them !

" Now it was my turn to jeer and scoff at the doubters, but as I was about to ask them what they saw, so many came to kiss my hands and beg my pardon, that I could not say a word. This was my reward." About six miles in front of them lay Kavalli, the objective point of the expedition ; and beyond Kavalli, the blue expanse of the Albert N'yanza. The Aruwimi Eiver, along whose valley Stan- ley had journeyed for so many miles and throughout such eventful days, rises a little to the northwest of the Lake. About 100 miles above Yambuya, it exchanges its well-known name for that of Suhali ; but as the confluence of the Ne- poko is approached, it assumes the name of Nevoa, which is again exchanged—as soon as the confluence is passed— for No-Welle. Some 300 miles from its junction with the Congo, it is called the Itiri, which soon develops into Ituri, the name it bears to its source. The region traversed in following the river has a gentle trend from the plateau near the N'yanza to the valley of the Upper Congo, a declination in all of about 400< I —

212 HENRY M. STANLEY.

feet. Northward no land rises higher than some five or six thousand feet, but about due south, at a distance of some fifty miles from the camp on the N'yanza, there rises the lofty mountain mass of Kuwenzori. Between Yambuya and the N'yanza five distinct languages were encountered. Save where the devastations of the Arabs had made the country a wilderness, there were numerous villages and abundance of provisions. But until they set foot on the grass land about fifty miles west of the N'yanza "we saw nothing," said Stanley, "that looked a smile, or a kind thought, or a moral sensation. The aborigines are wild, utterly savage, and incorrigibly vindic- tive. The dwarfs—called Wambutti—are worse still, far worse." Although Stanley had arrived at the lake, he

had not yet heard anything of Emin ; and as he was unable to procure tidings of the beleaguered Pasha, he at once determined to march back again, through the country of the hostile Baregga for the boat which had been left behind. On arriving at Ibwiri, he built a fort—Fort Bodo and sent 100 men under Lieutenant Stairs to Kilinga Longa's, 190 miles distant, for the boat, stores, and the two officers, Captain Nelson and Surgeon Parke. On their return, he set out for THE RELIEF OF EMIN PASHA. 213

the second time for the lake. This was on the 2d of April, 1888. On this his third passage through the hostile tribes of the grassy country, he managed to overcome native objections, and made " blood-brotherhood " with the most powerful chiefs—Mazamboni being the first to set the example. Stanley now sent Mr. Jephson in the boat to Mswa station, Emin's southernmost outpost. This was by way of reply to a note which he had received from the Pasha, who had heard that a white man was at the southern end of the lake. Six days later Stanley encamped on the same ground he had occupied on the previous Decem- ber, and at 5 p. M. of that day, the 29th of April, 1888, the Khedive steamer hove in sight, and two hours afterwards Emin Pasha, together with Signor Casati and Mr. Jephson, arrived at the camp. The meeting of these two great men, the one who had found Livingstone, only to learn of him and admire, and the other who accepted his task at the hands of Gordon, and performed it with a fidelity on the plane of heroism, must have been a supreme moment for them both. Stanley's feelings at that meeting may well be imagined. All the suffering and hardship, the famine and 214 HENRY M. STANLEY. fighting, were as nothing compared with the pleasure of being face to face with the object of his search, the faithful Governor of the Equa- torial Province. DARK DAYS. 215

CHAPTER XIII.

DARK DAYS.

The day after meeting with Emin, Stanley moved his camp to a more favorable spot, abont three miles from Nyan Sassic—and there remained till the 25th of May. During the whole of this month he could come to no understanding with the Pasha, who, now that the long- looked- for relief was at hand, seemed more and more reluctant to leave the Province over which he had so long held sway. For at this point in

the history of the Relief Expedition, it was supposed by Stanley—and, indeed, by the whole of Europe—that Gordon's old lieutenant had mag- netized the Egyptians and Soudanese, who formed the bulk of his people, into a state of consummate trust and reliance in their leader. Time, however, had other revelations in store. Meanwhile, Stanley labored at convincing the Pasha that the best thing he could do was to retire. It was true that Emin had reported 216 HENRY M. STANLEY. having two battalions of regular soldiers—1400 strong—and a large force of clerks, artisans, and

irregulars of many sorts ; that he had announced the fact that if he made up his mind to go away from the Province, some 8000 followers would coincide with his views and join him in his exo- dus, but at the same time his opinions fluctuated between the two opposite poles, and for several weeks he was quite unable to decide whether it were better to go or to remain. On one point he was decided—the Egyptians should go. Even at the first meeting, when so much that should have been said was suppressed, Emin referred to the Egyptians as being disloyal, and eager for the return to the lower valley of the Nile. To the curious indecision of Emin was added the no less curious view that Captain Casati, the Italian traveler and companion of Emin, took of his own position. Unsaddled by official cares and unfettered by government responsibilities, he, at least, who had but a short time before barely escaped with his life from the hands of Kabba Eega, King of Unyoro, might have been supposed to be willing to accompany the Relief Ex- pedition out of the country. But no. "What the Governor Emin decides upon," said he, " shall be the rule of conduct for me DARK DAYS. 217

also. If the Governor stays, I stay. If the Gov- ernor goes, I go." To a man of Stanley's promptness of action and decided views, this irresolution of the very individual he had gone through so much to relieve, must have been exasperating in the extreme.

But Stanley, although he is the same " self- willed, uncompromising, deep fellow" that he was described in his youth, has gone through much since those early days. Although he has been accustomed to have his own way pretty well in the arrangement of his various African campaigns, he has been confronted by too many a difficulty in carrying them out, to imagine that his desire would invariably be shaped in the deed. In fact, this knowledge of difficulties that would certainly arise, and the consequent careful provi- sion for such emergencies, are prime factors in

his marvelous success. No man could look forward with greater care, and provide more fully for that unexpected turn of the tide which so often happens in the things of the world, as well as in matters African, than " Bula Matari," the great stone-breaker of the Congo Canon. And in evading such obstacles, by sacrificing much of his desire in order to ensure a more complete render-

ing of the deed, Stanley learnt the art of self- 218 HENRY M. STANLEY. government. Many a time when physical difficulties—the eternal forest, the malarious swamp, the wide and rushing river, the desolate and desert plains—had arisen before him, teaching him the great natural law of patience, Stanley

had understood that his cue was to endure ; and now that he was confronted by the moral difficulty of another's indecision, he came to the conclusion that it would be well to wait awhile, and trust to the working of time. This must have been a veritable " self-denying ordinance" for such a man as he, and subsequent events only too clearly showed that he met with a poor reward. All this long while, from within a few days of his leaving Yambuya, Stanley had heard nothing whatever of his rear-guard, under the command of Major Barttelot. It was owing to want of carriers that this portion of the force had been left behind, and it was an understood thing that, as soon as Tippu Tib supplied—as he had promised—the necessary number of carriers, the rear- guard should follow in Stanley's track to the lake. This being the arrangement, Stanley left the great bulk of the ammunition, clothing, and general baggage of the Expedition at the palisaded camp on the Aruwimi, and now that he had found Emin and was willing to play a " wait- DARK DAYS. 219 ing game" for that individual's decision, his thoughts once more turned to the anxious subject of the rear-guard and its fortunes, with the result that he determined to march back and meet it. Accordingly, on May the 25th, 1888, he bade Emin Pasha " an revoir," leaving with him as his representative Mr. Mounteney Jephson. The Pasha agreed, after informing his people as to

Stanley's movements and propositions, to visit Fort Bodo, which was to be then vacated and destroyed, and to return with Stanley's officers to the camp on the Albert N'yanza. For Stanley, knowing that he could march with a greater speed in the absence of the special food, medi- cines, and baggage which Europeans would require, had determined to march right back again through the fearful forest, alone with his Zanzi- baris. On the 8th of June he arrived at Fort Bodo, which he found in a thriving condition. Just outside the fort nearly ten acres had been planted with corn and beans, and beyond this plot of ground lay vast plantations of bananas. Comfortable whitewashed houses had been erected, and the health of the men appeared to be excellent. Leaving instructions with his officers, Lieuten- 220 HENRY M. STANLEY. ant Stairs, Captain Nelson, and Dr. Parke, Stanley left Fort Bodo on June 16th, with 212 men, and eight days later reached Kilinga

Longa's. From there it took him more than a month to get to Ugarrowwa's settlement, or, rather, where that settlement had been. For

Ugarrowwa, having plundered the natives of all the ivory they possessed, or could procure for him, and desolated the surrounding country, had, after the manner of the Arab slave-trader, moved on to pastures new. As, however, Stanley had taken the precaution at Fort Bodo to load every one of his carriers with 60 pounds of corn, he passed through the devastated country without serious inconvenience. Stanley was now able to procure some canoes and descend the river itself, and he pressed on with such despatch that, in about three weeks, he overtook Ugarrowwa, who had left his former settlement three months before. This was on the 10th of August, and a week later Stanley met his rear-guard, or what remained of it, at a place called Bunalya, but a short distance from Yambuya.

And now we must go back a little in order to give a brief account of the fateful story of this unfortunate portion of the Relief Expedition. DARK DAYS. 221

It will be remembered that on the 28th of June, 1887, Stanley left a portion of his force, together with the bulk of his baggage, in an intrenched and palisaded camp at Yambuya, on the Aru- wimi. In charge of this he placed Major Bartte- lot, a dashing young officer who had seen excellent service with the British colors in Egypt, and who was his second in command. With Barttelot was Mr. Jameson, an African traveler of some experience. Both were ignorant, however, of the language of the men under their charge. They were subsequently joined by

Messrs. Ward and Bonney, who had been left, owing to inadequate means of transport, with 120 men at Bolobo, and by Mr. Eose Troup, the transport officer of the expedition, and who was delayed at Stanley Pool. Messrs. Ward and Troup, of the five white officers in the rear- guard, alone knew the language of the force under their command, which numbered about 250. Stanley had arranged that Tippu Tib, the Arab governor of Stanley Falls, should procure about 600 carriers in order that the rear-guard, with its enormous amount of impedimenta, might be able to march in his track. While waiting for these carriers, Major Bartte- lot was to hold the camp at Yambuya. Of this —

222 HENRY M. STANLEY. camp Mr. Werner, lately in the service of the Congo Free State, and who, in the capacity of engineer of one of the State's steamers, visited it, has given us an admirable account. "The fort or stronghold," he writes in his book, — " A Visit to Stanley's Bear-Guard," " containing all the stores as well as the huts of the Europeans, was an enclosure some sixty paces (say twenty-five to thirty yards) square, enclosed by a strong palisade of sticks, from two to three inches in diameter, and twelve to fifteen feet in length. These were planted as close together as possible, just leaving room to insert the muzzle of a gun between them. On the side facing the river, the palisade was planted on the very edge of an almost vertical descent of fifty feet. This side, being perfectly unassailable by natives or Arabs, needed no further defense. The two en- trances to this enclosure were about three feet wide, and defended by a door formed of planks made from the thick bottoms of large canoes. These doors were closed every night, and two men set to guard them. The trench was crossed by means of some light planks, which could have been pulled up in less than half a minute." Mr. Eose Troup, one of the garrison of this fort, has given an unflattering account of ita DARK DAYS. 223 healthiness. He wrote, on returning home invalided, that, " in a private letter Stanley describes the place as being remarkably healthy, but our experience proved it to be quite the contrary, as all the country at the back of the camp was of a swampy character, calculated to prostrate quickly with malarial fevers all the white men." It was within this fort that for nearly twelve long months Major Barttelot and his companions were compelled to await the pleasure of Tippu Tib for the promised carriers. Much has been written for and against this individual, but there can be little doubt that Stanley had over-estimated the staying power of Tippu's virtue. When the treaty was signed at Zanzibar, and Tippu took charge of Stanley Falls, it is quite probable that the famous half-caste Arab trader

meant to fulfil his obligations. But when Stan- ley had disappeared into the darkness of the unknown basins of the Aruwimi, and month after month rolled by without a word to tell of his

safety or his success ; when, in the place of that veteran of African travel, he had to deal with a young officer who was ignorant of his tongue, and who had had some misunderstanding with

his nephew, it is quite certain that Tippu's good resolutions were forgotten, and his zeal in the —

224 HENRY M. STANLEY. cause waned. Moreover, he had suspicions that Stanley had motives ulterior to the rescue of the

Pasha ; he shrewdly—and not unnaturally thought that " Bula Matari " meant to " eat up " the very core of the great continent, even as he had eaten up, or colonized, the great river Congo. At any rate, whatever he thought in his own dark heart, he preserved an outward semblance of friendship, while he managed to delay, month after month, the necessary carriers, and, as a consequence, the march up the valley of the Aru- wimi in Stanley's steps. At last Major Barttelot grew desperate. The constant and continuous delay almost over- powered the man whose courage, boldness, and thirst for action were so conspicuous. A palaver

with Tippu was accordingly arranged ; the interpreter explained to Tippu the views of the Major and his companion. The hut was surrounded by a throng of low caste followers, whose immediate presence, at the barred but unglazed window,

must have been entirely dispensable ! The result of this interview was that Tippu sent a large number of carriers to the camp on the Yambuya, but with orders—so Mr. Werner subsequently heard—to shoot Major Barttelot should he not treat them well. Any one who knows the Afri- DARK DAYS. 225

can character will be able to interpret this as a practical command to put an end to poor Bartte- lot's life, a sad event which was very shortly to occur.

When, on the 10th of June, 1888, Major Bartte- lot was at last enabled to make a move out of camp, he had lost two of his brother officers— Mr. Eose Troup, who had been invalided home, and Mr. Ward, who had been sent to the coast to communicate with the Belief Committee. On the 19th of July, Major Barttelot was cruelly murdered by the wretched carriers for whom he had waited so long, and though the murderer was subsequently captured and executed, the result was a general stampede. Left without carriers, the two remaining officers, Mr. Jameson and Mr. Bonney, had a sore task before them. The former hastened down the river to Bangala to procure fresh carriers, but contracted fever and soon after died. Mr. Bonney, the junior officer of the expedition, was left in charge of the remains of the rear-guard, and it was he who alone welcomed Stanley when, on the 17th of August, 1888, that wonderful man once more issued from the impenetrable gloom of the great forest, to find his hopes shattered and his resources scattered to the four winds. i5 22G HENRY M. STANLEY.

What his feelings must have been, perhaps the reader can hardly imagine. He had been marching steadily for nearly three months through the most difficult country, in search of his rear-guard, in order to help them in their task of following him, and now, when within a few marches of his original starting point, he came upon that rear- guard in a state of complete demoralization, and the valuable stores on which he had so much counted largely reduced. Out of five offi cers, but one remained. Out of 257 men, but 71 were left, and of these about twenty were unfit for service. Of the stores more remained than Stanley's few carriers could take, but unfortunately, as a report of his death had reached the camp at Yambuya, his personal clothing, medi- cines, provisions, and a number of other neces- saries, had been sent down the Congo. " Strange to say," wrote Stanley to the Emin Eelief Com- mittee, " they have kept two hats, and four pairs of boots, and a flannel jacket, and I propose to go back to Emin Pasha, and across Africa with this truly African kit. Livingstone, poor fellow, was all in patches when I met him, but it will be the reliever himself who will be in patches this time." In all respects the blow was a great one, but Stanley was not the man to succumb to dis- DARK DAYS. 227 appointments or waste time in regrets. Like the man of action he is, that very day he wrote to Tippu Tib for help, and set about packing up, with Mr. Bonney's aid, for the march back to the N'yanza. He wrote those letters which, arriving in England in the following April, cre-

ated so profound an impression ; and, with a re- quest to Tippu to follow him and join him if he possibly could, on August the 27th he once more plunged into the silence and obscurity from which he had but a few days before emerged, and, for the third time, braved the toil, peril, and hostile savages of the great Aruwimi Forest. All went well for a time, but some distance above the former settlement of Ugarrowwa's, Stanley essayed the right bank of the Aruwimi, here known as the No-welle or Ituri, and shortly afterwards was confronted by an unfordable tributary called the Thuru. Following this stream northward in search of a crossing place, the party struck its right branch, which some Wam- butti dwarfs they captured call the Dui. This was soon bridged, and Stanley found himself in a country unknown to, and consequently unvisited by the slave-raiders. It was thickly peopled by the Wambutti dwarfs—those curious people whom Professor Flower has supposed to be the a

228 HENRY M. STANLEY.

aborigines of Central Africa—and the country itself was one unending vast forest. It was while between the two branches of the Thuru Eiver that Stanley and his expedition came nearest to extermination. "This," he wrote, "has been the nearest approach to absolute starvation in all my African experience." For nine days he served out as the daily allow- ance for 130 people—some 150 having already been sent to forage, if necessary far and wide— broth composed of a pot of butter, a pot of con- densed milk, a cupful of flour, and water in sufficient quantity to make the concoction go the round of this large number of hungry individuals.

At last, the foraging party returned with food ; but not before twenty-one people had succumbed to their sufferings at " Starvation Camp." On December the 18th, 1888, the Thuru Eiver was crossed, and two days later Stanley arrived at Fort Bodo. Contrary to arrangements, but not to his presentiments, he found that fort still occupied by the officers he had left there. Moreover, there were no tidings whatever of Emin or Mr. Jephson. During the whole of the seven months of Stanley's absence, not a word had been heard of the white men or of the state of affairs on the Albert N'yanza. And yet the DARK DAYS. 229

Lake was hardly a fortnight's march from the fort ! This fact alone well illustrates the difficulties of communication in the heart of that continent of surprises. Stanley was anxious about Emin, and equally anxious about his own officer, Mr. Jephson. Before three days had elapsed, therefore, he was on his way to the Lake. For the fifth time he passed through the plains of Ibwiri, and the country of the Baregga, and on this occasion complete harmony was established. Ample supplies were forthcoming, and with the exchange of gifts and the performance of the ceremony of blood-brotherhood, an excellent understanding- was arrived at. Stanley had almost reached the Lake before he heard any tidings of the missing men ; but when those tidings came, in the form of a long letter from Mr. Jephson and two notes from Emin, they were of such a character as to throw the dreadful ruin of the camp at Yambuya completely into the shade. Then, and for the first time, Stanley heard what no one had hitherto dreamed of. The excellent government and the orderly condition of the Equatorial Province had ceased to exist long before. The two battalions of regulars had for years resisted the Pasha's authority, and had —

230 HENRY M. STANLEY. twice attempted to make him a prisoner. Mr. Jephson wrote that " the Pasha possessed only a semblance—a mere rag—of authority, and if he required anything of importance to be done he could no longer order—he was obliged to beg his officers to do it. . . . In May, '88, we thought, as most people in Europe and Egypt had been taught to believe by the Pasha's own letters and

Dr. Junker's later representations, that all his difficulties arose from events outside his own country ; whereas, in point of fact, his real danger arose from internal dissensions. Thus we were led to place our trust in people who were utterly unworthy of our confidence or help." Emin Pasha and Mr. Jephson were themselves prisoners in the hands of the rebels, and to add to the danger of their position, the Mahdists were sweeping down upon the unfortunate Province, and had already taken possession of Lado. But as the soldiers who were led by Emins rebellious officers against the forces of El Mahdi were on all sides repulsed, matters began to mend for Emin. For the soldiers, becoming panic-stricken, declared that the Pasha must be set free, and accordingly he was given his liberty. Then Emin, in company with Jephson and Casati, retired to Wadelaij but as matters again became complicated DARK DAYS. 231 —the Mahdists continuing to march southward without suffering repulse—the unfortunate Gov- ernor fled with his companions to Tunguru, a station on the Lake itself, and but two days' journey by steamer from Nsabe, Stanley's camp.

But this took place while Stanley was still in the heart of the Aruwimi forest, and it was not until two months later that news came of his arrival on the Lake once again. Stanley had received Mr. Jephson's letter, and he immediately sent him orders to return. This Jephson did, though not without difficulty. For the chief of Tunguru was opposed to his leaving, and Emin could do nothing to help him. Moreover he had to pass through the territory of a chief called Melindwa, the Pasha's most deadly enemy. But in spite of rough weather on the lake, and cruel enemies on shore, Jephson pluckily held on his way, and, on February the 6th, safely arrived at Stanley's camp, on the plateau above Kavalli.

The story he had to tell Stanley was a painful one. With the outbreak of open rebellion, Emin's mind seemed to grow less rather than more decided. Weak in health, half-blind, and con- sumed by an affection for his people which became a morbid sentiment, the Pasha could neither make up his mind to go nor to stay. 232 HENRY M. STANLEY.

" If my people go, I go," he said. " And if they stay. I stay." Casati kept up the embarrassment of the situation by echoing Emm's irresolution; "If the Governor goes, I go. If the Governor stays, I stay." And, wrote Stanley, "the Faithful reply: If the Pasha goes, we go. If the Pasha stays, we stay.." Such a state of affairs was exasperating to a degree. Not only had the Equatorial Province been lost to civilization, but the object of the relief—Emin himself—refused to be relieved. Stanley had written a letter to Jephson in which he pointed out that the time had gone by for argument, and that he was prepared for action. " This time," he wrote, " there must be no hesitation, but positive yea or nay, and home we go." The convictions formed by Jephson during his nine months' sojourn in the Province were summed up thus: "Sentiment is the Pasha's worst enemy—no one keeps Emin Pasha back but Emin Pasha himself." "With any other man than the Pasha or Gordon," wrote Stanley home, " one could imagine that, being a prisoner, and a fierce enemy hourly expected to give the coup mortal, he would DARK DAYS. 233 gladly embrace the first chance to escape from a country given up by his Government. But there was no hint in those letters what course the Pasha would follow." Stanley, however, decided that something more than a hint was now required, and accordingly, on the 7th of February, he despatched couriers to Emin with a letter to the effect that if help were needed, help could be sent ; but that in any case the reply must be positive, as delay was fatal. On the 13th of February, a messenger arrived in Stanley's camp, bearing a letter from Emin. The Pasha was on a steamer then at anchor off the shore I 234 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTEE XIV.

HOMEWARD WITH HONOR.

Emin had reached Stanley, hut only with the loss of his Province. To go hack there would have been certain death. The Mahdists were flowing southward over that once well-governed country, like the tide over the sea-shore. And in front of this irresistible wave there came flying the scum of the Egyptian soldiery, who had rebelled against the very man who could have helped them most. Emin would have received less mercy at the hands of his own soldiers than at those of the fanatic followers of El Mahdi. When he and Jephson fled from Dufile to Tun- guru, they had been condemned to be hung, and hung they would have been had they fallen again into the power of the rebels. The disintegration of the Equatorial Province had been gradual, and therefore all the more sure. When his officers, and the battalions under them, first rebelled against Emin's au- HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 235 thority, all that complete and just government which he had established received a shock from which it was never to recover. The outlying- parts of the Province were thereafter at the mercy of a military control which knew no conscience. Only time was needed to extend that regime to headquarters at Wadelai and its immediate vicinity, and in time that also took place. The arrival of Stanley, and the subsequent mission of Jephson to proclaim throughout the Province the news of relief sent by Britain and the Khedive, brought matters to a crisis.

" It is a lie," said the people. " Khartoum has not fallen. That is the road to Egypt, and we will only go by that road, or live and die in this country." The onset of the Mahdists, the rebellion of the soldiers of the Province, and the imprisonment and subsequent flight of Emin, were the last events in the final chapter of the splendid stand for the cause of civilization which Emin had made. That defense had been conceived on lines so philanthropic and humane, that one may well pardon the Pasha's irresolution when he saw the Province he had once administered so wisely and so well, relapsing hopelessly into a state of an- archy and barbarism. But no force was available 23G HENRY M. STANLEY. with which to withstand force, and the day of his personal influence had gone by. Stanley was waiting at the Lake to lead him, and such of his people as remained faithful, out of the coun-

try, and thence once more into civilization ; and to Stanley, though with obvious reluctance, he at length came. The step saved his life. On the day following Emin's arrival at Stan- ley's camp, a " divan " was held, at which Emin and several of his officers were present. In the course of discussion it was clearly pointed out by the leader of the relief expedition that it was now time for him to depart, and, therefore, for them to decide whether they would remain in Africa or leave with him for the coast. If they decided to depart, Stanley offered to wait a reasonable time to allow them to gather their people and their baggage together. This offer was deemed fair, and twenty days were fixed as a reasonable period of preparation. In the meanwhile, Stanley made ready for the long march to the coast. The first thing needful was bodily health, and Dr. Parke was, as Stan- ley wrote to Sir William Mackinnon, " at this time the hardest worked man in the expedition. Ever since leaving Fort Bodo in December, Sur- geon Parke attended over 100 sick daily. There '

HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 237

were all kinds of complaints, but the most numerous, and those who gave the most trouble, were those who suffered from ulcers. So largely had these drained our medicine chests that the surgeon had nothing left for their disease but pure carbolic acid and permanganate of potash.

Nevertheless, there were some wonderful re- coveries during the halt of Stair's column on the

Ituri River in January. The surgeon's ' devotion

—there is no fitter word for it—his regular attention to all the minor details of his duties, and his undoubted skill, enabled me to turn out 280 able- bodied men by the 1st of April, sound in vital

free all organs and limbs, and from blemish ; whereas on the 1st of February, it would have been difficult to have mustered 200 men in the ranks fit for service. I do not think I ever met " a doctor who so loved his ' cases.' Full busy, too, were the Zanzibari carriers in bringing countless loads of baggage—characterized by Stanley as " rubbish "—belonging to the refugees, from the lower camp, on the lake shore to the higher camp on the plateau nearly 3000 feet above. Day after day the task went on, until Stanley, who well knew that when the order to march was given nearly the whole of the impedimenta would have to be left behind, refused 238 HENRY M. STANLEY. to allow his men to work any longer at such futile labor. The appointed time of waiting passed by, and none of the Egyptian officers who had returned to Wadelai to acquaint the soldiers of Stanley's offer had reappeared. Emin begged Stanley to wait a little longer, but, after giving the rebels a few days' grace with no result, the latter made up his mind to march at once. The fact of the matter was, that the Egyptians required time to put into practise a conspiracy, subsequently discovered, to attack the camp with treachery, and plunder Stanley as they had previously plundered Emin. But they did not know the man they had to deal with, for the plot was not only discovered, but the ringleader promptly executed and his confederates flogged and put into irons. More- over Stanley threatened to put every one to death who should prove rebellious or turn traitor. At last, Emin's scruples having one by one been overcome, the now united forces set out from Kavalli on the 10th of April, 1889. Their total number was about fifteen hundred—three hundred and fifty carriers having been procured in the neighboring district. Emin's people, who numbered over five hundred, were made up thus : 134 men, 84 married women, 187 female domes- HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 239 tics, T-i children above two years, and 35 infants in arms. Truly a curious caravan to march half across Africa with ! Two days after starting—when the expedition was encamped at Mazamboni's—Stanley was placed hors de combat by an illness which brought him almost to death's door. Owing, however, to the careful and skilful treatment of Dr. Parke, combined with his own tough constitution, Stan- ley was enabled, after the lapse of a month, to take the lead once more, and set his caravan again in motion. Until they reached the river Semliki, which Stanley had ascertained flowed into the Albert N'yanza, and hence was a source of the White Nile, the expedition held on an almost direct southerly course. The river was in itself a great discovery, for up to the date of Stanley's arrival on it, geographers had supposed that the Victoria N'yanza was the ultimate feeder of the Nile. But here was a river which, according to Stan- ley, was quite two-thirds the width of the Vic- toria Nile, and which had an average depth of nine feet. Whence came this river ? That question also he was to decide. Marching up the Semliki Valley, through the country of Awamba, there loomed clearer and "

240 HENRY M. STANLEY.

clearer to the advancing travelers the mighty mountain mass of Euwenzori. In that great snow-ciad group Stanley identified the " Moun- tains of the Moon " of the old Arab geographer who, four hundred years before, wrote that " from the Mountains of the Moon the Egyptian Nile takes its rise. It cuts horizontally the Equator in its course north. Many rivers come from this mountain, and unite in a great lake. From this lake comes the Nile, the most beautiful and greatest of the rivers of all the earth." Stanley, in his letter to the Eoyal Geographical

Society, paraphrased this old geographer thus : " From Euwenzori, the snow mountain, the western branch of the Upper Nile takes its rise. Many rivers come from this mountain, and unit- ing in the Semliki Eiver, empty into a great lake, named by its discoverer the Albert N'yanza. From this lake, which also receives the eastern branch of the Upper Nile, issues the true Nile, one of the most famous of the rivers of all the earth. This most interesting mountain mass, crowned in the center with perpetual snow, was ascended to a height of nearly 11,000 feet by Lieutenant Stairs. His report revealed the chief features of the mountain as seen from comparatively close HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 241 quarters. Starting on June 6th, with 40 Zanzi- baris, he soon left the highest native huts behind, and after passing through a dense growth of bamboos, came upon tree-heaths, growing to a height of some twenty feet. Pitching camp among these heaths, and safely passing the night in an unusual altitude for Central Africa, the following day Lieutenant Stairs continued his ascent till within a couple of miles or so of a snow-peak. At this point, unfortunately, wide and deep ravines occurred, and as the party was not prop- erly equipped for mountaineering, the order to retreat was given. Lieutenant Stairs had gathered much, however, in the course of his ascent.

It appears that Euwenzori is covered with a snow cap, which descends more than a thousand feet down the mountain side. The general formation of the whole mass is briefly this : In the center are the highest peaks, snow-clad. From them radiate huge spurs, which gradually, by other spurs, spread themselves out on the plains below. Down the western side—the only side investigated as yet—flow snow-fed streams, which di- verge as they reach lower altitudes and run at a greater angle, finally flowing into the Semliki Eiver, and thence to the Albert N'yanza. The origin of this stupendous mass in the very core 16 242 HENRY M. STANLEY. of the continent is evidently volcanic, the highest as well as many of the lower peaks being apparently extinct craters. While Stairs and his party were on the mountain, little or no animal life was seen, although there existed many indi- cations of a prevalence of game of some sort. The only birds that were noticed were of a dull grayish brown hue, not unlike stone chats. In fact, as compared with an ascent of a mountain almost on the equator made about the same time —that of the Owen Stanley range in New Guinea, by Sir William Macgregor, and where birds of the most dazzling plumage were quite common —that of Euwenzori holds out few attractions to the naturalist beyond its remarkable position and height, and its contribution to the hydrography of Central Africa. In passing up the Semliki Valley, Stanley found it first grassy, then thinly studded with acacias and other trees, and subsequently claimed by the uncompromising grasp of the tropical forest.

At first level, the valley gradually rises, and at a distance of about seventy-five miles from the

Albert N'yanza, it reaches a height of nearly a thousand feet above that lake. It is near this point that the western extremity of Euwenzori abuts on the river valley. The great quantity —

HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 243 of sediment found in the water of the Semliki accounts, so Stanley thought, for the extreme shallowness of the Albert at its southern end. After passing through the thick forest belt of the Semliki, the expedition entered on a fine open grassy region—Ukonju and Usongora—which retained that character until the Muta N'zige was reached.

This lake, which is now known to be very much smaller than it has been mapped by geographers, owes its chief interest to the fact that it receives all the streams at the head of the southwestern basin of the Nile, and in turn discharges them by the Semliki into the Albert. The Victoria N'yanza, receiving the waters of the south- eastern basin of the Nile, and discharging them also into the Albert, affords a remarkable parallel. Stanley named the Muta N'zige, on the occasion of this his second visit, —for it will be remembered that he visited its eastern shores in his first march across the Dark Continent, "Albert Edward," out of respect, he said, to the first British Prince who has shown an interest in African geography. The sentiment is good enough, but it is to be deplored that the custom of retaining the native name is not more generally observed. Burton wisely left the Tanganika 244: HENRY M. STANLEY.

the name with which he found it ; and Living- stone acted similarly with regard to the Nyassa. Baker has always regretted that he followed suit toSpeke(with his " Victoria" N'yanza) by calling the lake he discovered the " Albert," and it is still more unfortunate that Stanley should have perpetuated an evil fashion by calling the famous old Muta N'zige the " Albert Edward N'yanza."

There is, however, one excellent excuse for such a system of nomenclature. In days when the nations of Europe are land-grabbing in Africa with more voracity than honesty, it may be useful to stamp the nationality of discoverers, travelers, and exploiters upon the region in which their labors lie ! Had the N'yassa been called the "Livingstone," and the Shire Eiver the " Mackenzie" or the " Kirk," even the Portu- guese might have blushed to make the preten- sions to those regions that they have in years past, and in the time now present. In the march along the Semliki Valley, Stanley had met with much opposition at the hands of the natives, owing to their being in league with Kab- ba Eega, the powerful but unfriendly King of Unyoro, a country which lay to the westward of Euwenzori. On arriving at Kative, an important town on the northwestern shore of Muta HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 245

N'zige (or Albert Edward N'yanza), Stanley marched in a northeasterly direction to the northern point of the lake, and then, following an almost due south course, he entered Unyam- paka, whose king proved friendly. Thence he marched in a fairly straight line through the countries of Ankori, Karagwe, and Uhaira to Usinja. For various reasons—all however strictly personal—the kings of these countries received the advancing host in an amiable manner, but the climate was not equally friendly. There was much sickness in the camp, and in one day alone, no fewer than 150 cases of fever were reported. It was when in Usinja that Stanley made another discovery of great importance. This was nothing less than a southwesterly extension of the Victoria N'yanza, which increased the area it had hitherto been credited with by nearly six thousand square miles. The southern point of this extension is in S. lat., 2° 48', thus bringing the Victoria within 155 miles of Lake Tanganika. It would appear that this discovery had been deferred so long by the overlapping chain of islands which bars, as it were, this great southwestern bay from the lake proper. The real importance of the discovery, however, lay in the fact that 24:6 HENRY M. STANLEY. the Victoria was thus really so near to the Tan- ganika that the idea of navigating the inland waters of Africa, from the mouth of the Nile to the mouth of the Zambesi, ceased to be a mere chimera. Already the Zambesi had been used as an entrance to the Shire, and this river as one to the Nyassa. Thence to Tanganika, the Steven-

son Eoad had been made the connecting link ; and now that the Victoria—which had been again and again reached from Khartoum by river—was found to be so much nearer to the Tanganika than had been supposed, the hopes of those who centered them on Africa, and the conversion of its great continental wastes to civilization, were aroused to the highest pitch. If a canal should eventually be found possible—when, that is, a responsible commercial State takes charge of the Tanganika and its eastern and northern basins, and renders such a work probable—then one of the greatest difficulties presented by the African continent will have disappeared. In that tropical country, where the horse and the mule are comparatively useless, water-ways form the most convenient and comfortable, as they are the most expeditious means of travel and commerce. By placing the Victoria so much nearer to the Tanga- nika, Stanley revived the hopes of those who HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 247 spend and are spent for Africa—hopes that had been cruelly shattered by the reversion of the Equatorial Province to the tyranny of the rene- gade and fanatic. On the 25th of August Stanley arrived at Usambiro, the Church Missionary Society's station south of the Victoria Lake, and where Mr. A. M. Mackay had labored since his expul- sion from Uganda. This marked the close of the march through absolutely new countries, and hitherto unknown peoples. In a letter to Mr. Marston, Stanley said that " at last we came to a church, whose cross dominated a Christian settlement, and we knew that we had reached the outskirts of blessed civilization." Mr. Mackay— " The Modern Livingstone," as Stanley called him—received the wearied travelers as his guests, and the fortnight spent at the Mission station was a period of delightful rest for the whole party. Here, also, Stanley received a large consignment of goods which had been awaiting him for eighteen months, and a packet of mails which had fortunately not been sent on to Uganda, and consequently escaped the destruction which they would have shared with the mission station in that troubled country. Once again the huge caravan was set in motion 248 HENRY M. STANLEY. and now the route of its march lay through the southern portion of Usukuma and thence, skirting the northern districts of Ugogo, to the well- known station of Mpwapwa, situated in the Ger- man protectorate. At this junction it may be well to quote Stanley's remarks on his geographical discoveries, which were of the most important character, and added to the honor he gained by his heroic, and finally successful efforts to save the life of Emin Pasha. " Over and above the happy ending of the appointed duties, we have not been unfortunate in geographical discoveries. The Aruwimi is now known from its source to its bourne. The great Congo Forest, covering as large an area as France and the Iberian Peninsula, we can now certify to be an absolute fact. The Mountains of the Moon, this time beyond the least doubt, have

been located ; and Kuwenzori, the Cloud King, robed in eternal snow, has been seen, and its flanks explored, and some of its shoulders ascended, the Gordon Bennett and Mackinnon cones being but giant sentries warding off approach to the inner area of the Cloud King. On the southeast of the range, the connection between the Albert Edward N'yanza and the Albert N'yanza has been discovered, and the extent of the former HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 249 lake is now known for the first time. Range after range of mountains have been traversed, separated by such tracts of pasture land as would make the cowboys out west mad with envy ; and right under the burning Equator we have fed on blackberries and bilberries, and quenched our thirst with crystal water fresh from the snow-beds. We have also been able to add nearly six thousand square miles of water to the Victoria N'yanza. Our naturalist will expatiate upon the new species of animals, birds, and plants he has discovered. Our surgeon will tell what he knows of the climate and its amenities. It will take us all we know how to say what new store of knowledge has been gathered from this unexpected field of discoveries. I always suspected that in the central region between the Equatorial Lakes something worth seeing would be found, but I was not prepared for such a harvest of new facts. This has certainly been the most extraordinary expedition that I have ever led into Africa."

At last, November 10th, the expedition arrived at Mpwapwa. On the last day of that month it reached Msua, and, on the 1st of December, Mbiki, a village some four days' journey from the coast. At Msua, Stanley was met by an 250 HENRY M. STANLEY. expedition sent by his old patron, the New York Herald, and which brought him a goodly supply of luxuries and comforts. Emin and his people also received a similar supply from an expedition under a German officer, and the HeraWs special correspondent had packets of letters and personal comforts, sent by the Italian consul at Zanzibar, for Captain Casati. As the expedition approached the coast, it assumed the appearance of a triumphal march. Parties of couriers and small caravans were continually meeting it with letters and telegrams of congratulations and loads of extremely welcome luxuries. The hour of danger was past : that of triumph was at hand. On the 4th of December, Major Wissman, who had himself twice crossed Africa, and was then in charge of German interests at Bagamoyo, met the advancing expedition on the banks of the Kinghani River. On the following morning, Stanley and Emin, riding on horses supplied by Wissman, and accompanied by that distinguished traveler, entered Bagamoyo, the port for Zanzi- bar. The whole town was decorated with palm leaves and triumphal arches, and both Stanley and Emin received the heartiest acclamations. They were welcomed by the Captain of the German warship Sperber, in the name of the HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 251

Emperor William ; by the Judge of the English

Consular Court, as representing the Queen ; and by Mr. Nichol, on behalf of the Emin Relief Committee. A salute of nine guns was fired simultaneously, by the soldiers under Major Wissman, and by the war-ship Sperber. In the evening a grand banquet was given by the Major, who made a speech in which he described Stanley as his master in African exploration. Stanley, replying, spoke feelingly of those soldiers whose bones lay bleaching in the forest, declared that with the whole party the one word had been " Onward," and thanked God that he had been permitted to do his duty. But even now that they were among friends, danger was to dog them yet. The evening which had begun so propitiously closed disastrously. Emin, who was half-blind, walked through a window whose height he had misjudged, and fell heavily to the ground, a distance of twenty feet. When picked up he was quite unconscious, and it was thought at first that he had sustained fatal injuries. Under the devoted care, however, of Dr. Parke and some German physicians, the Pasha was brought slowly and with difficulty from the very door of death back again to life, and ten days later he was declared to be out of danger. —

252 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Meanwhile telegrams of congratulation poured in on Stanley and the suffering Emin. It was recognized throughout the civilized world that the former had accomplished with rare honor a task of almost superhuman difficulty, while to the latter the hand of sympathy was pitifully extended in the hour which should have been one of unmixed rejoicing. The reception accorded to Stanley at Zanzibar would have done honor to a crowned monarch, and the whole world eagerly vied, day after day, in flashing along the ocean cables the willing share it took in that welcome. Among the acclamations of the hour none stands in greater prominence and none, perhaps, was more acceptable to the great explorer, than the message of the Queen whose subject he was born.

Thus it ran :

" My thoughts are often with you and your brave followers, whose dangers and hardships are now at an end. Once more I heartily congratu- late all, including the survivors of the gallant Zanzibaris, who displayed such devotion and fortitude during your marvelous expedition."

Marvelous, indeed ! In spite of every difficulty, in spite of the failure of his rear guard to follow in his steps, in HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 253 spite of the terrible collapse of the province over which Eniin had ruled, in spite of fevers, famine, relentless natives and inhospitable nature, Stanley had consummated his mission with the best success. He had brought out of the danger of the dark Soudan the one white man left at his post. He had saved him from the fanatic Mah- dists, he had saved him from his own rebellious people. Had Stanley been unable to push through that terrible forest any one of the three times that he successfully performed that feat, Emin Pasha could hardly have survived the dervish confiscation of the last remnant of the Egyptian

Soudan. It is conceivable that he might have been spared in order to be brought before the

Mahdi himself ; but what then would have been his fate and the fate of his white companion,

Casati ? They would have been forced to wander for years about the wide streets of Khartoum, dressed in the garb of the dervish, and outwardly conforming to the utter apatby and corruption of his social system. Whether Stanley saved Emin from the pangs of physical death or from the more insidious moral death which captivity at Khartoum would have insured, one thing at least is certain—he brought "the last white captain of the Soudan," the faithful lieutenant 254 HENRY M. STANLEY. of that faithful general—Gordon—back again into civilization and all that civilization meant. To his own people—all those, of whatever nation or tongue, who had dwelt upon the Pasha's position with anxious sympathy, and followed the reliever's steps with prayerful eagerness—to such as these did Stanley bring Emin in safety from out of the very core of the Dark Continent.

In only one other contingency is it conceivable that Stanley might have helped Emin better, had he simply taken vast stores of ammunition to him and then done everything in his power to strengthen the Pasha's position at Wadelai. The one condition to make this method of relief effectual was wanting. The Pasha was found to have no real power left—to be occupying a position which was daily becoming more and more untenable. There was therefore no hope of doing

good by staying ; and Emin, in answer to Stanley's earnest appeals, determined to go. His decision meant life and safety not only for himself, but also for those of his followers who still remained faithful.

In its best sense, the relief of Emin must also mean the rescue of the Soudan from the tyranny of the dervish, and the slave-trade of the Arab.

The loss of the Equatorial Province is but a call ! —

HOMEWARD WITH HONOR. 255 to arms for another crusade in Central Africa. We are warring with the weapons of peace and commerce in Nyassaland, and that vast region through which the middle course of the Zambesi runs. In the interior, as well as on the west coast and the east, that crusade is being fought. "With Mombasa as starting point, the commercial state of British East Africa is pushing inward to the Victoria N'yanza, and so onward to the lost valley of the Upper White Nile. When the day comes—as come it assuredly will—for the conversion of that country to civilization and the blessings of peace and unity, Stanley—if he be not, indeed, the actual leader in that crusade will be remembered for his heroic relief of the one man who, for eleven long years, manfully upheld the banner in that deserted region, and who, though acclaimed throughout the world as Emin Pasha, thought himself honored the most in being Gordon's lieutenant sj5G HENRY M. STANLEY

CHAPTER XV.

CROWNED WITH HONORS.

" In all the annals of chivalric romance there is no more adventurous career than that of the Welsh workhouse hoy who has just plucked the heart out of the mystery of the Dark Continent. On the shelves of Don Quixote's library there were no tomes more full of romantic fascination and enthralling interest than the volumes which

tell of how Mr. Stanley found Livingstone, converted King of Mtesa, opened up the Congo, and rescued Emin." Thus wrote Mr. Stead, the brilliant editor of The Review of Revietvs, in 1889. The career of Stanley since that date has remarkably fitted it-

self to the requirements of the staple romances.

That is to say, the hero of romance, after sur- mounting infinite difficulties, overcoming appall- ing obstacles, displaying marvelous courage tempered by unfailing wisdom, marries the beauti- —

CROWNED WITH HONORS. 257 ful princess, and the charming couple retire to the palace where they are honored by the whole world and are happy forever after. This is a fairly accurate description of the later career of Henry M. Stanley. In order to bring out the sharp contrast be-

tween the life of energy and suffering of the explorer in the forest, and the triumphs of the explorer returned to civilization, it will be necessary to recall briefly some of his experiences in Africa. While on his 160 days' journey through the terrible Congo forest, he wrote this descrip-

tion :

' ' Try and imagine some of these inconveniences. rain Take a thick Scottish copse, dripping with ; imagine this copse to be a mere undergrowth, nourished under the impenetrable shade of an-

cient trees, ranging from 100 to 180 feet high ;

briars and thorns abundant ; lazy creeks, meandering through the depths of the jungle, and sometimes a deep affluent of a great river. Im- agine this forest and jungle in all stages of decay and growth—old trees falling, leaning perilously all over, fallen prostrate ; ants and insects of

kinds, sizes, and colors, murmuring around ; monkeys and chimpanzees above, queer noises of

birds and animals ; crashes in the jungle as i7 S —

25 HENRY M. STANLEY.

troops of elephants rush away ; dwarfs with poisoned arrows securely hidden behind some

buttress or in some dark recess ; strong, brown- bodied aborigines with terribly sharp spears,

standing poised, still as dead stumps ; rain pattering down on you every other day in the year ; an impure atmosphere, with its dread consequences, fever and dysentery gloom ; throughout the day, and darkness almost palpable through-

out the night ; and then, if you will imagine such a forest extending the entire distance from Plym- outh to Peterhead, you will have a fair idea of some of the inconveniences endured by us in the Congo Forest."

This brief resume of an experience which lasted, with no relaxation, for well nigh half a year gives " a fair idea of some of the inconveniences " —not all—that fell to the lot of the traveler. A great change came over the character of the intrepid man as a result of the labors and responsibilities, an intimate change which radically af-

fected his aims and purposes ; it was the myste- rious change which men call conversion. To his honored and beloved patron, Sir William Mac- kinnon, he wrote of this in the following words : "You, who throughout your long and varied life have steadfastly believed in the Christian's CROWNED WITH HONORS. 259

God, and before men have professed your devout thankfulness for many mercies vouchsafed to you, will better understand than many others the feelings which animate me when I find myself back in civilization, uninjured in life or health, after passing through so many stormy and dis- tressful periods. Constrained at the darkest hour to humbly confess that without God's help I was helpless, I vowed a vow in the forest solitudes that I would confess His aid before men. Silence,

as of death, was round about me ; it was mid-

night ; I was weakened by illness, prostrated by fatigue, and wan with anxiety for my white and black companions, whose fate was a mystery. In this physical and mental distress I besought God to give me back my people. Nine hours later we were exulting with a rapturous joy. In full view of all was the crimson flag with the crescent, and beneath its waving folds was the long-lost rear column. "If [the Pasha] with 4,000 appealed for help, what could we effect with 173 ? The night before I had been reading the exhortation of Moses to

Joshua, and whether it was the effect of those brave words, or whether it was a voice, I know not ; but it appeared to me as though 1 heard,

1 Be strong, and of good courage ; fear not, nor " —

200 HENRY M. STANLEY. be afraid of them, for the Lord thy God, he it is

that doth go with thee ; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.' When on the next day Mazamboni commanded his people to attack and exterminate

us, there was not a coward in our camp ; whereas, the evening before, we exclaimed in bitterness, on seeing four of our men fly before one native.

' And these are the wretches with whom we must

' reach the Pasha ! After narrating that he had sent out 150 of his best men for forage, and that these men failed to return, leaving the remainder to starve to death, Stanley, apparently believing that his foragers had deserted him, continues : " As we traveled that afternoon we passed several dead bodies in several stages of decay, and the sight of doomed, dying and dead produced on my nerves such a feeling of weakness that I was well nigh overcome. " Every soul in that camp was paralyzed with sadness and suffering. Despair had made them all dumb. Not a sound was heard to disturb the deathly brooding. It was a mercy to me that I heard no murmur of reproach, no sigh of rebuke.

I felt the horror of the silence of the forest, and thought intensely. Sleep was impossible. My thoughts dwelt on the recurring disobediences, CROWNED WITH HONORS. 261 which caused so much misery and anxiety. Stiff- necked, rebellious, incorrigible human nature, ever showing its animalism and brutishness!

Let the wretches be forever accursed ! Their utter thoughtlessness and oblivious natures, and continual breach of promises, kill more men and cause more anxiety than the poison of the dart, or barbs and points of the arrows. If I meet them I will But before my resolve was uttered, there flashed to my memory the dead men on the road, the doomed in the camp, and the starving with me, and the thought that those 150 were lost in the remorseless woods beyond recovery, or surrounded by savages without hope of escape. Then do you wonder that the natural hardness of the heart was softened, and that I again con- signed my care to Him who could alone assist us? "The next morning, within half an hour of the start, we met the foragers, safe, sound, robust, loaded, bearing four tons of plantains. You can imagine what cries of joy these wild children of nature uttered you can imagine how they flung ; themselves upon the fruit, and kindled the fires to roast and boil and bake, and how, after they were all filled, we strode back to the camp to re- joice those unfortunates with Mr. Bonny. 262 HENRY M. STANLEY.

" As I mentally review the many grim episodes, and reflect on the marvelously narrow escapes from utter destruction to which we have been subjected during our various journeys to and fro through that immense and gloomy extent of primeval woods, I feel utterly unable to attribute our salvation to any other cause than to a gra- cious Providence, who, for some purpose of His own, preserved us. All the armies and arma- ments of Europe could not have lent us any aid in the dire extremity in which we found ourselves

in that camp between the Dui and Ihuru ; an army of explorers could not have traced our course to the scene of the last struggle, had we

fallen ; deep, deep as utter oblivion had we been surely buried under the humus of the trackless wilds."

It is thus evident that Stanley came back from Africa a different man from what he was when, as a newspaper correspondent, he first went there to find Livingstone. This change was not the inevitable result of the passing years, such as all

mortals must pass through ; nor that natural strengthening of character which is always the reward of a manly conflict with difficulties. The change referred to includes also the change in the spirit and temper of his mind, by which he came :

CROWNED WITH HONORS. 203 to look with different eyes on the great dark continent, and upon the friendless, ignorant, savage, benighted wretches doomed there to live and die. This made him what Mr. Stead called a missionary, for he became substantially a missionary and he did much to open the way for those who would engage in the direct work of missions with more formality than himself. Stanley had not only heard the still small voice in the depths of the forest, but previously, and preparatory to that, he had come into personal touch with the prince of missionaries, David Livingstone. After Stanley's exploration, after he returned to civilization, having accomplished the unspeak- able task of opening up Africa, there was nothing for him but plaudits and orations. He, however, made not one return to civilization, but several one after each of his several trips. But the honors showered on him upon these occasions were substantially continuous, and all of them form harmonious parts of one story. The salient points of these may therefore be narrated without particular regard to grouping or to their chronological order. His first report, in 1872, was of course made to his employer, James Gor- don Bennett, of the New York Herald. But, in coming to America, he must needs pass through 264: HENRY M. STANLEY.

England, where the popularity of Livingstone foreordained a wonderful welcome to his discoverer. Tearing himself away from his British admirers as soon as possible, he came quickly to New York City, where he was naturally the hero of the general public, the star of all journalists, and the bright particular star of the Herald force. It was the Herald force that tendered him the honor of a brilliant dinner at Delmonico's. The amusing story of this affair is narrated by Mr. Connery, who, as chief of the Herald staff, was chairman of the committee of this entertain- ment. The Delmonico dinner to Stanley was appointed for 7 p. m. sharp. The diners convened promptly, with expectant minds and appetites that presently became energetic. But the guest of honor was not in evidence. " Seven o'clock sharp " came and went, but Stanley neither came nor went.

Tardiness, however, is recognized as one of the prerogatives of genius, and the group of men assembled to meet the famous man tried to make the best of the matter. As the quarter hours dragged themselves by, it looked as if Hamlet would be left out of the play that night. Finally the men openly grumbled, for a delayed dinner makes a man unreasonable ; the chef also, who CROWNED WITH HONORS. 265 felt that his reputation was at stake, was heard to mutter. A search party was then organized to go out and find Stanley. To his hotel they proceeded and knocked at his door. No answer came to the knocking. Entering without invitation they found, in the inner room, the object of their search, in his shirt-sleeves, seated on the floor, surrounded by maps of Africa, oblivious of dinner, deaf to the vigorous knocking, and literally absorbed in his studies. They commanded his instant attention, hurried him into his dress-

suit, and marched him to his dinner, the first course of which was served precisely two hours after "seven o'clock sharp." Such was the concentrated earnestness of the man whose motto might have been, " This one thing I do." After Stanley had published his letters, or some of them, in the paper that sent him to Africa, and after he had been sucessfully dined, the next thing for him to do was to lecture. A reporter, detailed by the Herald to write up the lecture, asked for specific instruction. "Shall I report " " the lecture on its merits ? "Yes ; of course ! Human nature always finds a difference between the merits of a friend and those of an enemy. The reporter in this case, unmindful that Stanley was a member of the Herald staff with a claim —

266 HENRY M. STANLRY. to leniency in the house of his friends, seemed to look on him rather as an enemy that ought to be exposed. At all events, he did not temper severity with mercy, but dipped his pen in undi- — luted gall, and wrote : " Mr. Stanley's elocution is bad, though it improves as he gets into his discourse, and might be made acceptable if his manner of treating his subjects was such as to insure a partial forgetfulness of his faults of oratory. Unfortunately this was not the case lecture goers care little to be told of Livingstone as a missionary or Livingstone as a traveler and consequently this part of his lecture last night was intolerably dull. Mr. Stanley has utterly

mistaken the necessities of the platform. . . . If he has half the courage before an average civilized audience that he showed in the wilds of Africa he can at once overcome his deficiencies. To do this he, of course, must forego his manu-

ipt, and, forgetting the singsong and doleful

i iotone in which his voice is too often pitched, simply talk to his auditors of what he saw, heard and suffered while doing his duty so nobly to the Herald, to humanity, and to science." The effect of this "fair, impartial sketch" of his first lecture in America was remarkable. So far as is known Stanley had absolutely no feeling CROWNED WITH HONORS. 267 of resentment, and it is not likely that he cared for, even if he realized, the unkindness of the criticism. It is certain that he set himself to work to correct the alleged defects his critic had pointed out, and was as resolute in this as if the critic had been an infallible instructor in the art of oratory. It is not a common trait in human nature to profit by unkind criticisms, but Stanley was not a common man. His one motto through life, as he himself declared, was, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." The same intense energy which he had applied to penetrating successfully the forest wilds in search of Livingstone, he now applied to the task of making his lecture acceptable to the lecture-going

public of the United States ; and with equal success. Hardly did Demosthenes take more pains than Stanley, and his elaborate care was not relaxed as long as he was in the lecture field. When he was going from city to city, repeating the same lecture night after night, he would spend hours of the day going over it with the greatest care to see if he could not improve it. It was a matter of conscience with him, and he did it with his might. From such careful labors—considering that the man had a story to tell, and a very fascinating 268 HENRY M. STANLEY. one at that—there could be but one result. It was many years afterwards that he came under the influence of Major Pond, and he doubtless made great improvement before he lectured under the management of the Major as well as during the progress of the lecture tours but the testi- ; — mony of the latter may be inserted here : " He was constantly remoulding, polishing, and im- proving the lectures during the tour." "From the start until the finish, one hundred and ten lectures, Stanley showed signs of steady improvement. He was good at the start, but shortly became a fine speaker, and then a better speaker, and before he had finished he was the best descriptive speaker I ever heard. " The very first lecture, however, the one delivered in 1872, Pond pronounced a dismal failure. Stanley applied also a great amount of care to the writing of his books, although as a newspaper man he must early have learned to write rapidly. Mr. Edward Marston, of the publishing firm Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, has left a graphic account of the way in which at least one of his books was written. Returning from Africa, and having had some experience of being lion- ized, Stanley well knew that it would be almost impossible to command the seclusion necessary to CROWNED WITH HONORS. 269 write with sufficient care after he had reached England. He accordingly determined to get his writing finished before going to England at all, and arranged to have Mr. Marston, his publisher, come to him at Cairo. The climate of Cairo at that season of year—winter— is quite fit for a Mohammedan paradise, suited for rest and pleasure, but not stimulating to labor. There were some interruptions, though these were immeasur- ably less than they would have been among his

own countrymen : there were letters, telegrams, tourists, tuft-hunters, and what not. But Stan- ley maintained his seclusion. In his commodious suite of rooms at the hotel Villa Victoria, he made the bedroom his sanctum. His valet, Sali by name, the black boy who had traveled with him through Africa, began to lead a life of burden and of terror. For personal safety the boy

devised a new way of delivering telegrams : namely, thrusting them into the room on the end of a long bamboo pole, and then taking to pre- cipitate flight. In the absorption of his work Stanley neglected his exercise, and he neglected his meals until Mr. Marston became alarmed for the life of the worker, but to his expostulatious, about the only answer he could get was, "But

the book, the book ! I must finish the book." 270 HENRY M. STANLEY.

It will not be supposed that Stanley worked absolutely without rest or relaxation, but the above account is intended to show faithfully his earnestness. He did relax somewhat at meal time, and yet he was one of the most abstemious of men. Nor could seclusion well be more complete

than his ; during Mr, Marston's entire stay, which was not brief, Stanley was outside the garden

only three times : twice to dine, and one other time. Thus he threw his whole energy into the work of writing, and this work, too, he did with his might. The reporter who criticised Stanley's interest in Dr. Livingstone was in part right, though principally wrong. Stanley's devotion to the missionary was far beyond the reach of the sym- pathies and understanding of the average man who has little interest in missionaries. He was as loyal to Livingstone as to his patron saint. He would not tolerate anything that savored of criticism of him, and anything of the sort was to

his mind a species of blasphemy ; for, as Mr. Stead said, Stanley " found salvation " when he found Dr. Livingstone. When he was an invited guest at a dinner of the British Association at Brighton, a gentleman there present said something in a disparaging tone of Livingstone's CROWNED WITH HONORS. 271 claim to have discovered the sources of the Nile. To Stanley this seemed like an aspersion on the honor of his friend, and he was instantly in a towering rage. He jumped up from the banquet, absolutely refusing to speak as he had been expected, flung a guinea on the table to pay for his dinner and stalked off without a word.

The first lecture Stanley gave, that in 1872 which has already been mentioned, was so far removed from success that it can hardly be counted as one of his series of lectures, because

it stood alone ; and yet it was necessary to his future success. The first lecture, or a first lecture, had to be given some time, the first failure apparently had to be made, and it was well that these should be done and out of the way as early as possible. It was at the earnest recommendation of Henry Ward Beecher that Major Pond, who may be called the Barnum of American lecture bureaus, approached Stanley

with the proposition for a lecture tour ; and with Major Pond, to seek a star lecturer was to win. He was as sure of his game as was Davy Crockett. After various preliminaries, which could have but one conclusion, arrangements were made for a season of fifty lectures, at the price of one hundred dollars each, beginning in 272 HENRY M. STANLEY.

New York November 29, 1886 ; but it was expressly stipulated that if Leopold, King of the Bel- gians, recalled Stanley, he was to be allowed to return without let or hindrance.

The first lecture of this series was given in Chickering Hall—recently demolished, but then standing on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 18th Street. Henry Ward Beecher's felicitous introduction of the lecturer helped to give the entire course a successful launching, and the newspapers also contributed, perhaps involuntarily, to this success by their columns of interviews with the newly arrived explorer. The fourth and fifth lectures of the course were given in Hartford and Boston, at both. of which Mark Twain introduced the speaker. In the mixture of the absurd and the serious that constituted the introductory speech at Boston, Mark Twain compared Stanley

favorably with Columbus : Columbus started out to discover America, but all he had to do was to

' ' sit in his cabin and hold his grip and sail straight on, and America would discover itself. Here it was. barring his passage the whole length and breadth of the South American continent, and he couldn't get by it. He'd got to discover it. But Stanley started out to find Dr. Livingstone, who was scattered abroad, as you may say, over the CROWNED WITH HONORS. 273 length and breadth of a vast slab of Africa as big as the United States. It was a blind kind of search." This grotesque and startling speech of Mark Twain's not only pleased the public by its humor, but it struck thoughtful people as containing an important truth, and that Stanley was entitled to rank with Marco Polo, Columbus, Captain Cook, and all the explorers of the very first rank. The introduction was a success, and so was the lecture.

So also was the series of lectures ; for applications for lectures by Stanley began to pour in so thick that it was quickly agreed between the lecturer and his manager to extend the course from fifty to one hundred lectures. But alas for the plans, only eleven of the number were actually given, the last one being in Amherst, Mass. The King of the Belgians suddenly summoned Stanley for his last and greatest trip into the Dark Continent.

This contingency was known to be possible but it was not at all expected. There was nothing for an honest man to do but obey the summons, and Stanley was the soul of honesty. It was not pleasant for the manager to lose both the money and the fame which were now about within his grasp, but he was in part compensated by Stanle}T 's— last remark as the two parted on the steamer : " I owe 18 274 HENRY M. STANLEY. you eighty-nine lectures, which I will deliver if ever I return from Africa." Three and a half years later Stanley returned to London, literally the hero of the world. Major Pond was fortunately in London about the same time on other business. Although Stanley, writing his book, which was a sort of report of his ex-

' pedition, was up to his eyes in work and ' saw no one," he did see Major Pond and he showed that he did not forget that he was still eighty-nine lectures in arrears. In the mean time he was over- whelmed with flattering offers from other man- agers for lecture tours. One offered him $150,000 and expenses all paid, for a course of one hundred lectures. But the lecturer was loyal to his former manager. A new scale of prices was agreed upon, the terms of which were not made known to the

public ; but it is sufficient to say that both parties concerned were satisfied, and it may be added that each made a fortune out of the enterprise. The first lecture of this series was given in New York City in November, 1890, or about four years later than the last previous lecture, and the box receipts amounted to the unparalleled sum of $17,800. In the nature of the case the other lectures could not possibly equal the success of this, but the course as a whole was eminently gratifying, for CROWNED WITH HONORS. 275

it was "the most successful lecture engagement ever made in the United States." This lecture tour was quite like a triumphal procession. His enthusiastic welcome was the only honor that could be accorded in the United

States, but such as it was it was given with great

zest. In this country it is not the custom to give

medals, orders, and decorations ; but the ovations he received were no less intelligent and no less

hearty. And though Stanley is British by birth, and though he became British by citizenship, the Americans have always considered and will always consider him essentially one of ourselves. It was a foregone conclusion that a man of Stanley's attainments and position should stand for parliament. Accordingly in 1892 he became a candidate of the Liberal Union party in the contest at North Lambeth. There were 7,300 electors, and, according to the English methods, an enormous amount of electioneering was required, far more than the American politician can understand or wishes to experience. For this work he had but nine days, while his opponent had been "laying his pipes" for three years. The result, though not successful, was flattering ; Stanley was defeated by the narrow margin of 130 votes. Again, in 1895, he was a candidate 276 HENRY M. STANLEY. and was elected. In politics he belongs to the

Liberal Union party ; his objections to the separate government of Ireland may be stated in the following words : The separate government of Ireland would only lead to a similar demand from Wales, then from Scotland, then from south England, and so on until the old conditions of the

Heptarchy would once more obtain and it would be impossible to resist foreign invasion. In the year 1899 Stanley was created Grand Cross of the Bath, which entitles him to the knightly honor of being known as Sir Henry M.

Stanley. This is not a political office, but it is given in recognition of his eminent services to civilization, and it is the last public honor he has received up to date. Stanley's greatest triumphs came after his final return to England, having rescued Emin Pasha. He was at once the guest of the Prince of Wales at the Sandringham Palace. The Eoyal Geo- graphical Society, under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, gave him a magnificent reception in St. James, Hall, May 5, 1890. That was to be the occasion of presenting a gold medal to the explorer, and a bronze medal to each of his companions in commemoration of their services to the science of geography. Stanley on his part CROWNED WITH HONORS. 277 was to tell the story of his journey, including the description of the Mountains of the Moon, the relief of Emin Pasha, and other topics. The occasion was brilliant in the extreme. As the procession, with the President, Mr. Stanley, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Edinburgh at its head, entered the hall, the assemblage of some seven thousand people, in all the brilliance of evening dress, arose as with one mind, and gave their guest such an enthusiastic greeting, such a tempestuous reception, such rounds of cheering, such bursts of applause, that only fall to a very few in many years, and that come to a man but once. This brilliant honor was in substance repeated

in all the great cities of England and Scotland. A description of them all would weary the reader by the very monotony of magnificence. The whole may be summarized in the keen remark of

Mark Twain : "This untainted American has been caressed and complimented by half the crowned heads of Europe, and he could clothe his body from his head to his heels with the orders and decorations lavished upon him." The chief

' cities of Great Britain presented him with their freedom, the highest honor they can bestow, while the universities gave him honorary degrees. 278 HENRY M. STANLEY.

He accepted these honors frankly, although a near friend said that receptions and dinners worried him, as he could not bear being on exhibition under a shower of forced compliments. But so great was the work he accomplished that the New Revieiv justly remarked that the next great geographical sensation in store for humanity is the return of the man who shall have reached the North Pole. There were of course some drawbacks to the triumphs Stanley enjoyed. It was no secret that there was a rupture of the friendship between Ernin and his rescuer. Dr. Peters, a later traveler over the same country, bitterly attacked Stanley. So did the friends of Major Barttelot and others. E. L. Godkin published in a magazine an ingenious and caustic article in which he accused Stanley of piracy. All these, however, proved to be mere ripples on the surface. They are either forgotten, or dimly remembered as ancient history, while the great continent is steadily developing in wealth and moving towards civilization. Stanley was human. It would be foolish for any enthusiast to claim that he made no mistakes. But the wonder is, not that he made mistakes, not that he was sometimes irri- table, but that on the whole he made so few mis- —

CROWNED WITH HONORS. 279

takes, and that he was able at all times so well to control both his men and himself as to succeed where all others had failed, and to succeed with the minimum loss of life. Whatever criticisms

have been made or may be made, it is evident to all that his work as a whole and in its details was crowned with success.

When Stanley returned to England in 1890, after the almost miraculous act of rescuing Emin Pasha, the enthusiasm was unbounded, and his

welcome was such as it seldom falls to the lot of man to receive. A poet, H. D. Rawnsley, published in Murray's Magazine for June, 1890, an ode entitled "Welcome to Stanley," which well represented the general feeling of the great public. The entire ode is nearly three hundred lines long, and only the last stanza is here given :

We bring the weary traveler home Not with the rolling drum and trumpet's blare Nor pomp of indefatigable bells, For he has said so many sad farewells ; He comes not flushed from war but worn with care. He went not forth to conquer but to pave ; And though from half a world he hath removed The cloud of death and darkness, those he loved Lie far in some unvisitable grave. Wherefore our England now goes forth to meet him With hands outstretched, and silent—eye to eye, Because her heart is full and tears are by ; So does our England greet him, And brings the long lost, weary wanderer home. 280 HENRY M. STANLEY,

CHAPTER XVI.

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.

The popular welcome was also general and extended well-nigh to all sorts and conditions of men. Societies, corporations, individuals, strove for the honor of doing him honor. The universities of Edinburgh and of Cambridge both con- ferred the degree of LL.D. on him, while Ox- ford gave him that of D.C.L. But an honor even more fascinating, more welcome to him per- sonally, and of much greater value than it was in the power of any university to give, was con- ferred on him by the young lady who had been the subject of his dreams and visions both in.

Africa and out of it. A part of the delightful

is 9 — affair narrated in the Youth s Companion : A pretty story of how Henry M. Stanley wooed and won Miss Dorothy Tennant, though coming to us from private sources, has been made sufficiently public to avert the charge of undue personality. Miss Tennant, it is well known, was " "

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 281 the original of Sir John Millais's famous picture, " Yes or No ?" It seems that Stanley had asked the question and the answer was " No." The great explorer went to Africa again, and after several years returned to London to find himself the most-talked-of man of the day.

The thought of Miss Tennant was still upper- most in his mind, and he resolved that his first visit should be to her home. In his impatience for the morrow he turned over the cards and notes with which the table was strewn, and select- ing one haphazard, decided to while away the time by attending a certain reception.

The first person he met there was Miss Ten-

nant ; they greeted each other formally, but later in the evening Stanley retired to a small ante- room, to find that Miss Tennant had likewise sought solitude. A somewhat embarrasing silence ensued, broken at last by the woman saying, with

' ' " the manner of one making conversation : " Do you find London much changed, Mr.

Stanley ?

"No ; I haven't found London changed, and I've not changed, either," returned the explorer with his usual intrepidity. " Have you ? "Yes, I've changed," answered Miss Tennant, softly. 282 HENRY M. STANLEY.

A few days later Millais received a note from his former subject, beginning :

" My Dear Sir John : " The momentous question has been at last de- " ' ! cided. It is a joyful and triumphant yes '

Miss Tennant, whose personal beauty is widely known through the copies of Sir John Millais's charming picture, above mentioned, was one of the most generally admired young ladies of u London society. Descended in direct line from Oliver Cromwell,'- says one, "her energy, ver- satility, and intrepidity recall the familiar saying that if Eichard Cromwell could have changed places with his sister, England might have escaped the curse of a Stuart restoration." She was also a clever writer and an artist of no mean ability. Some of her cartoons and illustrations were very fetching and were known to the London public at large, while her more serious work was exhibited in the art galleries. The news of the engagement caused much delight to Stanley's friends in London, and everywhere, as the charms of the affianced bride became known. The marriage seemed ideal, and it was a fitting crown to the labors, the sufferings, and the patience of the great explorer. COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 283

The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey

July 12, 1890, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, and was a brilliant affair. Two days before the wedding ceremony Mr. Stanley had an attack of gastritis, a painful reminiscence of African experiences. He was, however, so far improved as to be present promptly at the hour set for the marriage, though he was compelled to walk with the assistance of a stout cane. As he entered the choir of the great Abbey, the organ, under the skilful touch of Dr. Bridge, sent forth the fascinating strains of the bride's chorus from " Lohengrin." The preparations were elaborate. The nave and choir were carpeted with red cloth, the steps to the

altar were nearly filled with baskets covered with white silk, containing wedding favors, and the grave of Livingstone was marked with two magnificent wreaths of flowers, one sent by the bride and groom, and the other by the members of his expedition. The south transept was occupied by a brilliant company of guests who held tickets, and the north transept was filled to its utmost capacity with other people. Stanley's best man was the Comte D'Aroche, who was sent as the special representative of Leopold, King of the Belgians. The groomsmen were Lieutenant 281 HENRY M. STANLEY.

Stairs, Dr. Parke, Captain Nelson, Mr. Barney, and Mr. Jephson. The faithful black hoy, Sali, who had followed his leader through Africa made a fitting and picturesque rear-guard to the procession. Presently the organ announced the arrival of the bride at the west entrance. She "wore a skirt of white satin, embroidered with pearls, with a bodice and a long court train of white

corded silk ; round her neck she wore a diamond necklace presented by Sir W. Mackinnon, from which was suspended the miniature of the Queen, surrounded by brilliants, the gift of her Majesty." The opening exhortation of the marriage service was read by Archdeacon Farrar, and the ceremony was continued by the Bishop of Ripon. After the placing of the ring on the finger, the rest of the service was conducted by the Dean and a Canon, and all was followed by an anthem of Dr. Bridge composed for the occasion, and an impressive address by one of the clergy. The couple passed out to the music of Mendelssohn's familiar wedding march. To each of the wedding favors, which were distributed by a number of ladies after the ceremony, was attached by a bow of white satin ribbon a silvered card, cut out in the form of COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 285 the continent of Africa, with the word Africa stamped upon it, and showing the course of the Congo river. The register was signed in the Jerusalem Chamber, and among the names added to those of the bride and bridegroom were Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, the Dean of Westminster, the Bishop of Eipon, Sir Frederic Leighton, Bar- oness Burdett-Coutts, and Sir William Mackin- non. As Mr. and Mrs. Stanley passed from the Abbey, up Whitehall Street, to their future home at No. 2, Eichmond Terrace, they were all the way loudly cheered by large crowds. Owing to his recent illness Mr. Stanley rested while at their house, but the bride graciously accepted the congratulations of friends. From this house they presently drove in an open carriage to the Waterloo station, where they took the train for the sumptuous residence of Lady Ash- burton, Melchet Court, Hants, which the owner had generously placed at the disposal of the newly married couple for their honeymoon. The wedding was followed by the lecture tour in the United States for the season of 1890-1891, under the management of Major Pond. This tour answered for a wedding trip, and such a wedding trip as was never before enjoyed and is not likely soon to be duplicated. Despite the pro- 28(5 HENRY M. STANLEY. testation of the bride that she wanted her husband all to herself, and that she was jealous of the time commanded by the manager and the lecture engagements, the phenomenal welcome, the amazing success, the enthusiastic fionors of this lecture tour could not be other than extremely gratifying to her. No royal honors could have been greater, and the best of it was that it was the spontaneous outburst of the honor which a free and intelligent people paid to the character and achievements of the hero, and that they admired him not less, but all the more, because he was a self-made man. Such unusual tributes of honor did not detract from the joy of

the wedding journey in the least ; and if Mrs. Stanley was susceptible to the feeling of pride, her pride in her husband was more than satisfied. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley have made their home at

No. 2, Eichmond Terrace, London. Eichmond

Terrace is a quiet side street leading off from the beautiful and famous Thames Embankment.

The home has all the quiet of perfect seclusion, and yet it is hardly twenty rods from the entrance

to the House of Parliament ; it is out of the noisy world but within easy reach of the center of things : the House of Parliament and Westmin- ster Abbey are at hand. The broad sweep of the COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 287 river just there adds a touch of picturesqueness. curios, The house itself is a veritable museum of and artistically arranged. The literary tastes the labors, the interest in public affairs, and supervision of his private interests, give Stanley being enough to do without crowding him, or done, burdensome to him. His great work is world so far as human eye can see, and all the rejoices in the serenity of his later years. 288 HENRY M. STANLEY.

CHAPTER XVII.

LATER YEARS AND DEATH.

By G. Mercer Adam.

With the rescue of Emin Pasha from the savagery of Dark Africa and the return, in 1890, of the Relief Expedition to Zanzibar, the work of the resourceful and intrepid explorer, Henry M. Stanley, as Mr. Montefiore tells us, was done. What significance marked the beneficent and daring work of rescue and exploration in which Stanley was so long and effectively engaged in Africa, the reader of these pages will not need to be told, since by it civilization has been carried into the heart of a vast and once little known continent, while, with its coming, barbarism has largely been driven from its once hideously reg- nant seat. The trade expansion and rapid economic development of Africa since Stanley's day have been the marvel of our time. When we think of the railway extension and the brilliant pioneering projects in the once waste places of LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 289

interior Africa, one marvels at what human achievement has accomplished within a single generation, since Stanley found Livingstone at Ujiji in 1ST1, explored the region of the great equatorial lakes, discovered the sources and traced the sinuosities of the Congo, and for a time, in the years 1879-82, governed the territory in the inter-

est of Leopold, king of the Belgians. The rail- road and telegraph line construction, with its adjuncts in the way of postal communication, through various sections of the continent, have, of course, heen great factors in the opening up of the country for colonization and commerce. In Cape Colony alooe, there are now 2,500 miles of railway under government auspices, extending from Cape Town to Bulewayo, in Ehodesia, with extensions under construction to Lake Tang- anyika, besides about 10,000 miles of telegraph

line, with over 500 offices, throughout the colony, not to speak of private railroads and electric tram- ways in operation or already surveyed. Natal, moreover, has 600 miles of a railway system, the main line extending from Durban to the borders of the Transvaal. Railway and steamer facilities are also now to be found in Central Africa and

its adjacent Protectorates, connecting with, or will speedily now connect with, the coast at Zanzibar. 19 290 HENRY M. STANLEY.

In British East Africa, not only have Protec- torates been created which bring extended areas within their administration and control, but a railway now operates inland from Mombasa, the capital of the Protectorate, 400 miles in length,

known as the Uganda E. R. system ; while a local company has a submarine cable which connects the two distant ports of Mombasa and Zanzibar.

The Germans have also begun to construct railroads within their territorial jurisdiction, alike

in East Africa and in South-West Africa ; while the French have not only railways, but an extended system of river communication, in their colony of Senegal, and have projected railway systems in the Congo region, and in French Guinea to connect Konakry with the Niger.

The continent of Africa is in superficial area much larger than Europe, having over eleven and a half million square miles of territory, large portions of which, like those of the Great Sahara desert and the more extended equatorial regions, being as yet unknown and unexplored. Of this enormous territorial extent, the Congo Free State, under the protectorate of Belgium, has an million square miles area roughly estimated at a ; British Central Africa possesses 43 thousand an square miles ; while British East Africa has ;

LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 291 area upwards of a million square miles in extent in addition to a total area of 35,000 square miles representing the aggregate of the smaller possessions of Britain in Africa, outside the Transvaal, Rhodesia, Nigeria, Natal, Cape of Good Hope, the Orange River Colony, and the Bechuanaland

Protectorate. The European population is as yet limited within these colonies and districts ; though over the face of the continent the native population is vast, and in parts dense. German East and South-West Africa have a joint territory of nearly three-quarters of a million square miles. Portugal, moreover, controls about 750,000 square

miles ; while Italy reckons she has an area of 100,- 000 square miles in Somali-Land, with about 400,-

000 inhabitants. The commerce of Africa is as yet only in its infancy, though it already amounts to close upon $100,000,000 per annum, and is advancing with giant strides. Great, manifestly, was the service rendered by Stanley in adding to our geographical knowledge of much of the interior of Africa, as well as of its coast-fringes and of a large tract of the Egyptian Soudan. Not only did he clear up many matters which had hitherto been a mystery to geographers, back to the days even of Ptolemy, in regard to the great recesses and water-basins of the Con- 292 HENRY M. STANLEY.

tinent, and give certitude to minds which had long been exercised over the true sources of the Nile; but he startled the world with the an- nouncement of the unity of the Lualaba and the Congo, and thrilled every reader with the narrative of his exciting and hazardous voyage over their joint waters. Escaping from the thousand- and-one perils of his journey, he revealed to the

outer world the resources, almost passing belief, of that hitherto unknown continent, and turned dizzy the head of commerce with the amazing possibility that lay before it in opening up the region. But great as was that enterprise, and

well-deserving of the honors which rewarded it,

Stanley, as Mr. Montefiore in these pages tells us, has, moreover, added immensely to his laurels by following up and giving practical effect to his earlier achievements. As we know, he for a number of years was engaged, at the instance of the Belgian government in opening up to trade the waters of the Congo, in constructing a railway to overcome its -rapids and cataracts, and in bringing almost the heart of the continent within reach of the sea. He was also instrumental in founding, and partially peopling with Europeans, a great Free State in the Congo basin, and in es- tablishing communication far into the interior LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 293 and up and down the west coast. In this great work he had not only the aid of Belgian capital, but the hearty cooperation of King Leopold, and the practical encouragement and support of the entire Belgian people. What that enterprising nation will gain by its generous recognition of the now deceased pioneer and explorer is almost beyond the range of fancy to conceive. In this conquest of a new continent civilization will doubtless profit as well as Belgium, and the promised time be hastened when a nation, as it were, shall be born in a day. But Mr. Stanley's achievements, wonderful as so far they are, do not, as we know, stop here. The eyes of the civilized world were once more turned to Africa as the scene of further triumph on the part of the intrepid explorer. From the " Dark Continent " he once more emerged as the rescuer of Emin Pasha, the governor of the abandoned equatorial province of the Egyptian Sou- dan, and brought with him a tale of further marvel, which could scarcely be enhanced had he come from the world of the dead. In this new relief-expedition we have the records of further heroic endeavor, of undaunted energy and pluck, and the overcoming of obstacles which no one of his own party believed surmountable. From that 294 HENRY M. STANLEY.

expedition, Stanley once more came to light, having escaped ambush and open attack, the ravages of pestilence and the pangs of hunger,

and all the accidents in a deadly climate of flood, and forest, and field. Nor was the expedition less fruitful of geographical results than those

Mr. Stanley commanded that preceded it. It settled many hither moot questions appertaining to the hydrography of Central Africa. It traced

the Ituri or Aruwimi from the Congo to its sources, in immediate proximity to the Albert Nyanza. This great inland sea was tracked anew a fresh ; bay of the Victoria Nyanza was discovered ; while the Nepoko was proved to be a tributary of the Ituri. The existence and extent from east to west of the great forest region was, moreover, sealed with certainty, at infinite cost of labor and suffering, while greater accu- racy was reached in our knowledge of large tracts of the heart of the Continent. Stanley's account of some of the additions he made to our geographical knowledge on his homeward march, while now almost an old story, was as thrilling in parts as it was interesting as a whole. Of the country he passed through, after the succor of Emin Pasha, on the march from Kavalli to the " sea, he writes : Discovery after discovery in the LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 295 wonderful region was made—the snowy Ruwen- zori, the Cloud-King or Bain-Creator, the Semliki River, the Albert Edward Nyanza, the Plains of Usongora, the salt lakes of Kative, the new peoples of the Wakonju or Great Mountains, the dwellers of the rich forest region, the Awamba, the fine-featured Wasonyora, the Wanyoro ban- dits, and then Lake Albert Edward; the tribes and shepherd races of the Eastern uplands, their Wanyakori, besides the Wanyarawanba and Wazinia, until at last we came to a church (doubtless the Church Missionary Society's sheep- fold at Upwapwa), and we knew we had reached the outskirts of blessed civilization." The significance of these discoveries cannot of course be however, sent a fully seen even yet ; they have, thrill of exultation not only through geographical and commercial circles, but through Missionary Christendom, watching for opportunities to spread a knowledge of the Gospel. The economic resources of the African continent are known to be rich as well as varied. In Zulu- land, a British protectorate under the administration of the governor of Natal, with an area of 12,500 square miles, agriculture and cattle-raising are carried on by the natives. There, gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, iron, asbestos and coal are also 296 HENRY M. STANLEY. found, though, so far, only the gold has been worked. In British Central Africa, where the climate is less unhealthy than in the greater part of tropical Africa, coffee and rice are now among

the successful products of the region ; while about one-fourth of the ivory exported from Africa comes from the district—the vicinity of Lake Nyasa and the Shire Highlands. In British West

Africa, the four crown colonies export among its staples palm oil, palm kernels, and India rubber, besides beeswax, ground nuts, rice, cotton, corn, and gum copal. In Cape Colony, the chief agricultural productions are wheat, oats, barley, mealies, Kaffir corn, rye, oats and hay, with rai- sins, wine, brandy, and tobacco. Other products are wool, mohair, butter, cheese, and ostrich feathers. Farms in tillage are as yet compara-

tively small ; but the sheep farms of the colony are often of very great extent, extending from 3,000 to 15,000 acres and upward. For the development of the continent's capabilities an adequate white population is, of course, obviously necessary, though the native industrial schools, here and there established by the Missions, now begin in some degree to meet the imperious and absolute want. The construction of good roads and the safety to life ensured in the Protectorates are in LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 297

themselves favorable to the immigration of useful

white labor ; so that instead of finding only a few thousands of Europeans in the country, we may, ere many years pass, find hundreds of thousands settled here and there over the continent, living useful, healthful, and prosperous lives, and vigorously adding to the development and civilization of Africa.****** The close of Stanley's career was sudden as well as somewhat unexpected, though his health had not been good since before his withdrawal from the English Parliament in 1900. Ten years earlier, he had married Miss Dorothy Tennant, a lady of much artistic talent, and a protege and friend of Sir John Millais, the painter of the well known picture, " Yes or No," the study-original of which was Stanley's pretty and attractive bride. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey amid brilliant surroundings, the ceremony being attended by many English notabilities, political and social, of the day. It proved a very happy alliance, the interesting couple being devoted to each other, as numberless visitors to their artistic London home, in Eichmond Terrace, Whitehall, abun- dantly testify. Here the sad end came to the great explorer on the morning of May 10th, 1904, after "

298 HENRY M. STANLEY. a brief illness, occasioned by Sir Henry having caught a chill while out driving early in the month, which developed into pneumonia and pleurisy, and finally proved fatal. In his last illness, Stanley's efforts to keep up the character of a strong man, it is related, were pathetic. During the last few days, it is stated by an English journalist in the Loudon Daily Mail, Sir Henry's voice began to weaken, the old authoritative tone came only in jerks, as by a supreme effort, and the words gradually faded until he became silent. Then came the concluding hours—the stubborn contest of a powerful constitution with a dissolution of which he had not the slightest fear. It was then that Lady Stanley would ask him,

" Do you know me, dear ? " This was as it were the code for the words, " Are you feeling better ? which she would not hurt him by using. His invariable reply was, "I know you, dear," or " I know you, child." Again, it would be asked of him, " Are you a little sleepy ? " to which he would reply, "It is you who must be sleepy. Go and have a sleep. I shall be all right till you come back." Seeing that his wife was crying, he asked, "Why do you cry?" and receiving no answer, ;

LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 299

' ? added, ' Do you fear that we are parting " Then after another pause, "We shall be together again."

Some weeks ago, before his illness assumed its fatal aspect, he was speaking of his famous expedition of 1871, when he used the words descriptive of Central Africa, " Illimitable day, illimitable night." One who was present asked him if he did not feel unusually impressed by the awful grandeur of his surroundings, to which he replied, "I knew there was a great Power above me."

"When the death was announced, news of its occurrence was at once cabled to this country, where, as well as throughout Britain and the European continent, the passing away of the indefatigable and resourceful journalist-explorer elicited uni- versal regret. In London, the now widowed Lady Stanley received a graciously worded letter of con- dolence from King Edward and his royal consort while the press of both countries published, with the obituary notice, numberless tributes of respect and esteem, accompanied, in the case of the great dailies, by elaborately though feelingly paid homage due to the deceased for his eminent achievements and phenomenal gifts. In London, when the death became known, naturally there was talk of interrino: Sir Henry's 300 HENRY M. STANLEY.

remains in the renowned Abbey, near by the tomb of David Livingstone, the revered missionary-explorer of the Dark Continent, whom Stanley had found and succored on his first adventurous mission to Africa, and with whose fame his own is so remarkably and pathetically

linked. But the deceased's own wish, it appears, was that he should be buried at Furze Hill, Pir- bright, Sir Henry's country seat in Surrey, and there, after imposing religious services in Lon- don, his remains found their last resting-place. The story of his famous expeditions, together with what he had to tell the world in the way of personal observation and reflection, bearing upon his missions and achievements in Africa, Sir H. M. Stanley has given us in his many interesting works. These embrace, besides "How I Found Livingstone," first published in 1872, " Through the Dark Continent" (1878), " The Congo and the Founding of its Free State" (1885), "In Darkest Africa " (1890), "My Dark Companions and their Strange Stories " (1893), " Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa " (1893), etc., etc. As a story of thrilling interest and the narrative of an incomparable adventure, we have always regarded " Through the Dark Continent" as the best and most enchaining of Stanley's books, while LATER YEARS AND DEATH. 301 it is most spiritedly written and with fine literary effect. ''The years of wandering and toil and illness and fighting against savage men and inhospitable nature," as an appreciative critic ob- serves, " form the greatest of modern Odysseys." G. Mercer Adam. New York, June, 1904.

THE END.

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